Papers by Dra. María José Otero-Auristondo, PhD
Revista planeo, Apr 17, 2024
Durante la última década, Chile ha experimentado una megasequía que ha agudizado los conflictos s... more Durante la última década, Chile ha experimentado una megasequía que ha agudizado los conflictos socioambientales debido a la inequidad en el acceso al agua en las zonas rurales de sus Valles Centrales. Estudios recientes han analizado el efecto combinado de los cambios climáticos y el consumo de agua en cuencas afectadas por la sequía. Sin embargo, los estudios sobre las respuestas comunales actuales e históricas a las sequías constituyen aspectos poco explorados. Por lo tanto, la comuna de La Ligua presenta un caso de estudio importante, ya que analizar los comportamientos adaptativos de sus comunidades a condiciones propensas a sequías podría indicar respuestas resilientes a los conflictos hídricos. Estos comportamientos, a largo plazo, tienen el potencial de revelar claves sociales chilenas para procesos como el Cambio Climático. Esta investigación se basa en metodologías mixtas, donde las entrevistas y los sistemas de información geográfica serán los métodos principales de recolección y análisis de datos. Se espera facilitar la identificación de un tipo particular de resiliencia asociada a las sequías, lo cual podría contribuir a rediseñar la política nacional de gestión del riesgo de sequía centrada en y desde los territorios para la seguridad hídrica.
On 12 April 2014, the coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile, was affected by Mega Fire that destroyed... more On 12 April 2014, the coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile, was affected by Mega Fire that destroyed seven of its major hills, leaving thousands of affected families and major urban chaos behind. This is the latest happening of a historical relationship of this place and its communities with disaster events, that goes back two-hundred years to its original emplacement. In this thesis I will establish how this historically embedded way of life can be recognised through meaningful collective experiences of diverse communities that share a common place through time. I further argue that these meaningful collective experiences tend to merge into everyday city-making life, in what I call ‘Disaster Identity’; a key analytical tool that entwines the relationship amongst disaster, identity and place in disaster-prone places. I propose that this particular identity construction process is based on four main arguments: constantly re-signified social memory; collectively created identity and plac...
This chapter aims to contribute to the body of knowledge in geography teaching on the nature of a... more This chapter aims to contribute to the body of knowledge in geography teaching on the nature of and challenges to developing geographical thinking in Chilean schools. The discussion that follows first identifies the kinds of geography subject knowledge taught in Chile and second identifies the pivotal role of the way in which teachers perceive and develop their own geographical thinking and how this translates into their classroom practice. We performed lesson observations and interviews with forty-nine geography teachers in Chile across two networks: Teachers of Teachers and Rural Micro Centres. Findings, show that there is a strong tension between teacher training, and teachers’ own learning as in-service teachers. The paper concludes that developing geographical thinking in Chilean schools is influenced by a complex range of inter-related factors including the quality of teacher geography knowledge, their different interpretations of geography knowledge and their application of t...
Journal of Geography, 2016
The role of memory in disaster-prone places is essential to face disaster events, which, in time,... more The role of memory in disaster-prone places is essential to face disaster events, which, in time, can also shape city-making. Communities that live in disaster-prone places tend to react from instincts passed down through generations, rather than acting per protocols or planning by a centralised administrative organisation. This is evidenced not only in communal behaviours in the wake and aftermath of an event, but is also tangible in urban infrastructure, where its construction responds to a very local sense of belonging and attachment. Thus, I argue that communal knowledge construction in disaster-prone places relies on memory of a trans-generational origin, where memory is re-signified from event to event, empowering present communities to thrive in the face of disaster. Moreover, I propose that memory is a core aspect in city-making for these communities and in the construction of place, in behavioural and urban facets. This paper is a product of subjective analysis applied to V...
The Sheffield Student Journal of Sociology, 2017
The role of memory in disaster-prone places is essential to face disaster events, which, in time,... more The role of memory in disaster-prone places is essential to face disaster events, which, in time, can also shape city-making. Communities that live in disaster-prone places tend to react from instincts passed down through generations, rather than acting per protocols or planning by a centralised administrative organisation. This is evidenced not only in communal behaviours in the wake and aftermath of an event, but is also tangible in urban infrastructure, where its construction responds to a very local sense of belonging and attachment.
Thus, I argue that communal knowledge construction in disaster-prone places relies on memory of a trans-generational origin, where memory is re-signified from event to event, empowering present communities to thrive in the face of disaster.
Moreover, I propose that memory is a core aspect in city-making for these communities and in the construction of place, in behavioural and urban facets.
This paper is a product of subjective analysis applied to Valparaiso, a coastal city of Chile, and its major disaster events of 1866, 1906 and 2014. I designed data collection to gather impressions, reactions and life experiences of affected communities through interviews and archival
work related to historic disasters. During fieldwork, my main questions regarded memory and city-making as important aspects to face historic
disaster events. Data analysis was organised by emerging issues that participants regarded as most relevant explanations for disaster experiences, applying intersubjective interpretation to their narratives.
From this research, I aim to position qualitative methods, as a diverse analytical tool, equal in importance to traditional quantitative frameworks of disaster studies.
Although this research is a single case study, the identification of memory a an essential part of disaster understanding can help to improve preparation and readiness protocols in disaster-prone places.
Keywords: memory, disaster, communal knowledge, communal narratives, citymaking
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Papers by Dra. María José Otero-Auristondo, PhD
Thus, I argue that communal knowledge construction in disaster-prone places relies on memory of a trans-generational origin, where memory is re-signified from event to event, empowering present communities to thrive in the face of disaster.
Moreover, I propose that memory is a core aspect in city-making for these communities and in the construction of place, in behavioural and urban facets.
This paper is a product of subjective analysis applied to Valparaiso, a coastal city of Chile, and its major disaster events of 1866, 1906 and 2014. I designed data collection to gather impressions, reactions and life experiences of affected communities through interviews and archival
work related to historic disasters. During fieldwork, my main questions regarded memory and city-making as important aspects to face historic
disaster events. Data analysis was organised by emerging issues that participants regarded as most relevant explanations for disaster experiences, applying intersubjective interpretation to their narratives.
From this research, I aim to position qualitative methods, as a diverse analytical tool, equal in importance to traditional quantitative frameworks of disaster studies.
Although this research is a single case study, the identification of memory a an essential part of disaster understanding can help to improve preparation and readiness protocols in disaster-prone places.
Keywords: memory, disaster, communal knowledge, communal narratives, citymaking
Thus, I argue that communal knowledge construction in disaster-prone places relies on memory of a trans-generational origin, where memory is re-signified from event to event, empowering present communities to thrive in the face of disaster.
Moreover, I propose that memory is a core aspect in city-making for these communities and in the construction of place, in behavioural and urban facets.
This paper is a product of subjective analysis applied to Valparaiso, a coastal city of Chile, and its major disaster events of 1866, 1906 and 2014. I designed data collection to gather impressions, reactions and life experiences of affected communities through interviews and archival
work related to historic disasters. During fieldwork, my main questions regarded memory and city-making as important aspects to face historic
disaster events. Data analysis was organised by emerging issues that participants regarded as most relevant explanations for disaster experiences, applying intersubjective interpretation to their narratives.
From this research, I aim to position qualitative methods, as a diverse analytical tool, equal in importance to traditional quantitative frameworks of disaster studies.
Although this research is a single case study, the identification of memory a an essential part of disaster understanding can help to improve preparation and readiness protocols in disaster-prone places.
Keywords: memory, disaster, communal knowledge, communal narratives, citymaking