Rehabitar la Montaña: strategies and processes for sustainable communities in the mountainous periphery of Medellín
Thousands of poor, marginal communities’ residents die due to landslide events every year. The quick urbanization of mountainous areas, combined with an increased frequency of landslide events induced by heavy rains due to climate change, is leading to increased deaths year after year, and the problem will only get worse. Landscape Architects, trained to analyze and intervene in situations with complex natural and social territorial dynamics, are in position to make positive contributions to mitigating risks in such situations. A collaborative effort between a team of landscape architects from Germany and Urbanists in Medellin Colombia is carrying out a four-phased research and implementation proposal to anticipate and mitigate risk in low-income settlements on Medellin's urban periphery. They propose five pilot projects to test risk mitigation strategies through monitoring and early warning systems, drainage improvements, urban agriculture, slope forestation, and developing sites with the supplied services.
Global patterns of loss of life from landslides
Global loss of life from landslides is poorly quantifi ed. A global data set of fatalities from nonseismically triggered landslides that resulted in loss of life between A.D. 2004 and 2010 permits for the fi rst time proper quantifi cation of impacts and spatial distributions. In total, 2620 fatal landslides were recorded worldwide during the 7 yr period of the study, causing a total of 32,322 recorded fatalities. These total numbers of landslides and victims are an order of magnitude greater than other data sets have indicated, but analysis of the data suggests that it may still slightly underestimate the true human costs. The majority of human losses occur in Asia, especially along the Himalayan Arc and in China. This geographical concentration dominates the annual landslide cycle, which peaks in the Northern Hemisphere summer months. Finally, numbers of fatalities per event show a fat-tailed power law distribution, with the density of landslides being moderately correlated with the population density on a national basis.
Economic and Social Impacts of Landslides
The Session, Socioeconomic Impacts of Landslides, was organized to provide discussions on the socioeconomic impact of landslide events as well as best practice for mitigation of the risk associated with landslides. Social and economic losses, and their quantification, the consequences of landslides on infrastructure development, and land use policy, are critical aspects of socio-economic issues related to landslides. In addition the session will include case studies on recovery and resettlement, measures to reduce social vulnerability, investments for landslide risk mitigation and reduction, and insurance issues for landslide risk mitigation and reduction.