Again on February 27, 2010, at 03:34 local time, Chile was shaken by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake for about 3 minutes. What turned the earthquake into a ‘destructive disaster’ was the tsunami that came 18 minutes after the earthquake. What the earthquake could not do, the tsunami did, and the coastal part of the country was largely submerged.
President of the time, Michelle Bachelet, announced the death toll as 723, but 800,000 people were affected. The property damage was much greater. 4013 schools, 79 hospitals, and 370,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The cost of the destruction caused by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed was more than 30 billion dollars.
One of the cities that suffered the most destruction was Constitución in the Maule region.
About a quarter of the nationwide devastation occurred in Constitución. People in the region would be without electricity for 5 days and without water for 20 days in the middle of a destroyed city. Because the waves, reaching up to 6 meters in height, destroyed everything.
In La Poza, on the river bank of the Constitución, there were hardly any buildings left intact. More than 100 families had lost their homes. It was an undeniable fact that action had to be taken as soon as possible.
The target for replanning the city was 100 days and work started immediately.
Appointed as undersecretary of housing just before the disaster, Andrés Iacobelli was faced with a difficult task before he could enjoy his seat. He was aware of the need to get support from the private sector. He met with Arauco, the city’s largest forestry firm, and his friend, Alejandro Aravena, from Elemental companies that specialize in social housing projects.
The Arauco company has agreed to provide financial support for the “Sustainable Reconstruction Project” (Spanish abbreviation PRES). Elemental, on the other hand, would take care of the housing plan, keeping the plans running smoothly. La Poza would either be rebuilt jointly or the people living in the area would be resettled elsewhere. However, these two possibilities divided the people; While some people were willing to move from La Poza, another group did not want to give up their living spaces close to the river area.
For this reason, first of all, it was necessary to gain the trust of the people. There were many question marks.
A total of 150 million dollars was allocated for the project called “PRES”, in which La Poza will be restructured, and 70% of it was covered by the state. The participation of private companies in the project and the large sums in the middle also caused question marks among the public. Would that money really be spent on purpose?
The government and the companies involved in the project had to be as transparent as possible to address this concern. The biggest step in this regard has been taken through Elemental.
An “open house” was installed in the town square and the details of the project would be displayed here step by step.
Anyone could come to this open house and say what kind of city they wanted. The problems in the city were heard from the people who lived in it. Thus, the needs of the people were clearly revealed. At the same time, the public saw that their thoughts were given importance and had the opportunity to follow the project. Of course, this increased the confidence in the project.
The tsunami was a big risk for the region, but most of the people said it was their first time seeing a tsunami. Their biggest problem was that their houses were flooded when it rained. For this reason, the project should have included measures against tsunami, earthquake and flood disasters.
Elemental company presented 3 different project proposals for La Poza.
The first of these; It was the fallowing of tired lands that emerged from the tsunami. This was a cheap and easy method, but people had to leave their land and relocate to a different area. The vast majority did not favor this option.
The other option offered created question marks in the minds. A protective wall was to be built between the city and the estuary running through the middle of La Poza. But this seemed illogical in many ways. One year after the disaster in Chile, the tsunami in Japan was a proof of this. Because even the walls, which cost Japan 13 billion dollars, could not prevent huge waves in some regions.
Elemental’s last proposal was to build a forest between the city and the sea. In this way, trees could slow the waves and reduce potential damage. The situation on the country’s island of Orrega was a good reference for this idea. As a matter of fact, the bushes around the island prevented further damage.
These three options were put to a public vote.
The winner was the last option offered by Elemental. Orrego Island, located opposite La Poza, was also included in the plan and expropriated by the state for $20 million along with La Poza.
A budget of only $10,000 was set for each home. So either the houses would be makeshifts or another solution was needed. A “half house” project that Elemental tried in different regions in Chile and had successful results came to mind.
A “half house” project, which Elemental tried in different regions in Chile and had successful results, was accepted.
“Instead of building a bad house, we decided to build half of a good house,” said Elemental’s Alejandro Aravena about the project. expressed in his words. Thus, 40 square meters; Houses with a kitchen/living room, a bathroom and two bedrooms began to be built.
The other half of the houses left empty could be completed by the people living in them whenever they wished. It took more than 4 years to complete the project in Constitución, but in the end, the people took a sigh of relief by settling in their homes surrounded by nature. The reason why the project took so long was explained as “supports slowing down over time”.
Still, rival political party executives, the public, and private companies worked collaboratively on the project because that’s how it was meant to be. A project approved by the municipality needed government approval, public adoption, and private companies support. Chile learned a lot from this disaster. Maybe we can learn something from this “rebirth” story.
Sources: the Guardian, OECD, Los Angeles Times, ResearchGate
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