IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i8p3415-d1378629.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Calle Müller & Mohamed ElZomor, 2024. "Addressing Post-Disaster Challenges and Fostering Social Mobility through Origami Infrastructure and Construction Trade Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3415-:d:1378629
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3415/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/8/3415/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:8:p:3415-:d:1378629. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.