Disaster Governance and Collective Intelligences of Construction and Design in Cities of the Global South: Ideas and Questions for Further Research

Abstract

This note explores some relationships between disaster governance and collective intelligences linked to the construction and design of products in cities of the Global South, while it offers some reflections for future research. The ideas presented in this work are the result of a series of round tables that took place in 2021 among a group of specialists in the area of disaster studies and collective intelligence. The methodology was based on previously discussed topics and guiding questions to explore such linkages: Do collective intelligences have the power to transform higher social structures in the field of construction and risk management?; How can (formal) disaster and urban governance deal with collective intelligences? The results were systematised and summarised in this work. Some results point out to the need to connect urban development, disaster governance, collective intelligences, and architectural production for future research and practice. Timely and contextualised urban solutions that maximise the (re)use of scarce community resources could be a good alternative to meet the growing demand for housing and new products that solve basic problems and at the same time strengthen resilience to disasters.

Keywords

• collective intelligences
• urban governance
• disaster governance
• risk governance
• global south
• urban informality