RESILIENCE
IN THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT

Organized by Karla Saldana Ochoa, Virtual Tech, María Eugenia Sigüencia

June 27 – 28 , 2022

The conference was jointly organized by the University of Florida (USA) and the University of Cuenca (Ecuador).

This conference aims to create a space to discuss the capacity of medium and small cities to face several of the sustainability challenges of the 21st century. Primarily, the conference aims to expose strategies to mitigate and adapt cities to climate change, tools and methods to deal with natural and manmade risks, and how to respond to the problems of weak urban planning and urban sprawl. The conference sessions will explore the multifaceted contribution of different knowledge and experiences in creative forms of resilience in the built environment in a multicultural dialogue.

This conference creates unique spaces for unconventional encounters that spark debate, international exchanges, and networking. The conference also aims to align the ongoing debate on sustainability and resilience in the built environment by empowering local and international practitioners, researchers, policymakers, activists, students, and volunteers in their collaborative practices.

Conference Schedule

June 27

08:00
Registration and welcome coffee

08:30
Opening ceremony

08:45
Inspirational Conference
Karla Saldaña (University of Florida)

09:00
Panel 1: Key elements for a resilient and healthy environment in urban areas (Spanish)

Dr. Juan Fernando Hidalgo: Urban environmental synergies
Dr. Natasha Cabrera: Urban Rivers
Dr. Enrique Flores: Resilience of infrastructure to adapt to new forms of mobility
Boris Orellana: Real-time indicators of gentrification
David Vázquez: Resilient Urban Policies

Moderator: Sebastián Auquilla

10:45
Break

11:00
Panel 2: Tools for environmental management (English)

Andrea Galinski: Affordable Housing: Linking Equity + Resilience in Flood Hazard Analyses
Dr. Ravi Srinivasan: Drone-based Lowest Floor Elevation Estimates for pre-disaster management and post-disaster Mitigation
Jeffrey Carney: Mapping Vulnerability for Community Adaptation Across Scales.
Dr. Daniel Orellana: Urban mobility and accessibility justice analysis.
Dr. Esteban Zalamea: Solar photovoltaics for energy-neutral buildings.

Moderator: Karla Saldaña

12:45
Conclusions and closing of the session

June 28

08:30
Registration and welcome coffee

09:00
Panel 3: Community participation for resilient environments (Spanish)

Natalia Pacurucu: Application of community participation for risk management.

Francisco Valdez: Game engines for community participation.

Victor Caldas: Risk assessment for heritage management.

Anabel Cruz/Sebastián Auquilla: Resilient infrastructures in areas of urban influence.

Moderator: Juan Hidalgo

10:45
Break

11:00
Panel 4: Tools and methods in response to natural and anthropogenic risks (English)

Dr. Hernán García: Seismic risk in heritage areas.

Dr. Karla Saldaña Ochoa: Catalog of Change: Encoding with AI the change in the Built Environment after a natural disaster.

Dr. Zifeng Guo: Artificial intelligence and flood forecasting.

Chester Seller: Slow-moving landslide monitoring using remote sensing and In-situ techniques in Cuenca-Ecuador a UNESCO Heritage site (online)

Dr. Frank Fernandez: Campus and its resilience to natural disasters (online)

Moderator: Daniel Orellana

12:45
Conclusions and closing of the event

13:00
Lunch