Addressing Post-Disaster Challenges and Fostering Social Mobility through Origami Infrastructure and Construction Trade Education

Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor ()
Additional contact information
Claudia Calle Müller: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, USA
Mohamed ElZomor: Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: Natural disasters devastate property and infrastructure systems, impeding sustainable development. Low-income communities, due to economic, physical, and social disparities, face heightened exposure and vulnerability. These communities endure severe and long-lasting infrastructure damage, experiencing a fourfold increase in deaths per disaster and delayed recovery efforts. Consequently, they resort to constructing informal housing and infrastructure, worsening post-disaster challenges and vulnerabilities. This study aims to address post-disaster challenges in low-income communities by proposing two novel approaches that remain understudied despite their significant potential: (1) a short-term solution of origami temporary emergency housing for swift shelter post-disaster, enabling a return to routine activities while homes and infrastructure systems are being repaired or rebuilt; and (2) a long-term solution, including effective pedagogy, such as teaching methods and instructional tools, to educate and train low-income individuals to aid in sustainable post-disaster reconstruction while providing the added benefit of social mobility. To validate the feasibility of origami TEH and the need and effectiveness of the pedagogy, a survey among architecture, engineering, and construction experts in Puerto Rico, a region prone to natural disasters, was conducted. The results, analyzed using statistical measures including descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression analysis, emphasize the urgent need for sustainable TEH that can be quickly assembled and education for low-income individuals in construction trades. Implementing these solutions will significantly impact communities by addressing post-disaster challenges and promoting social mobility and job equity.

Keywords: construction trades; disaster management; informal infrastructure; natural disasters; origami temporary emergency housing; sustainable and resilient reconstruction; sustainable infrastructure; social mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3415/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3415/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3415-:d:1378629

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().