Facing Emergencies: Design Strategies

Some of nowadays problems have, due to general misunderstanding, been relegated out of our thoughts, as if they concerned us only remotely. One of these is the relationship between architecture – architectural design – and emergencies. But can the world of designers still find itself almost unprepared, as if taken by surprise, for a phenomenon that involves tens of millions of persons? Each year, due to earthquakes, war and emergencies of various kinds, temporary camps are set up all over the world, facilities which often turn out to be anything but temporary. Emergencies can no longer, in fact, be considered extraordinary, linked to uncommon, unforeseen and unpredictable events. Starting from these key considerations, the proposed essay – part of a research project on the subject of emergency housing conducted by professors of Architectural Composition at the DICEA, Faculty of Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome – will argue that, on the contrary, emergencies are very often predictable, manageable, and subject to planning aimed at reducing to a minimum the hardship of the people involved. Analyzing selected fast, economical, comfortable, repeatable but versatile, solid, and last but not least, urbanistically, architecturally and aesthetically valid proposals dealing with emergencies, the authors outline a strategy focused on considering emergency housing an experimental topic of architecture, highly oriented toward finding an indispensable synthesis between structural researches, technical issues and the configuration of space The essay deals with the subject of combining different materials – traditional (bamboo), innovative (teflon, polypropylene), recycled (containers) or usally considered inappropriate for construction (cardboard, pallets, rubble) – and modern prefabrication techniques, also digital, in order to propose a conception of systems for assembly, stiffening and eventually reach appropriate structural shapes

Control of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) and feeding preferences in pastures grazed by wild ungulates in an area of the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The diminution of pastoral activities in marginal areas, and consequently of livestock grazing, implies a strong encroachment of invasive vegetation. The conservation of the open areas is however particularly important for wildlife management. With this aim, this paper describes the results obtained in a protected area on the Apennine mountains (Italy), encroached by Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. Two restoration practices were carried out by the Administration of the Regional Park of the Laghi di Suviana e Brasimone (Bologna, Italy), in order to reverse the infestation of bracken and restore pastures within the park. The pasture, only grazed by wild animals, was improved through different treatments (ploughing followed by cuttings vs harrowing), each followed by seeding of a forage mixture. Our results showed better performance of the ploughing both as pastoral value of recovered pasture and as botanical composition. Some differences in the effects of the two restoration techniques were also found on the biodiversity index and on floristic richness. Data about grazing selection of the single botanical species have also been collected. The tesults also showed different behaviour in feeding preferences for wild ungulates in comparison to domestic stocks, giving a better evaluation of the real forage availability for wild herbivores

Agopuntura comunitaria. Una strategia abitativa per Vila Nova Esperança

I numerosi programmi di slum upgrading in atto nello Stato di São Paulo perseguono l’integrazione socio-spaziale attraverso la rigenerazione delle realtà informali, per far sì che gli abitanti possano avere accesso a beni e servizi primari e raggiungere così, in maniera reale, standard di vita cittadini. Tali interventi sono diversificati: risentono del luogo, della storia della comunità, della sua permanenza nell’area, della presenza o assenza di zone di rischio. Tra le tante strategie percorribili, il nostro contributo intende presentare un’ipotesi di intervento per insediamenti informali. Si tratta di un progetto sperimentale per abitazioni unifamiliari verificato in Vila Nova Esperança, piccola favela ricadente in parte nel Comune di São Paulo e in parte in quello di Taboão da Serra, e per la quale attualmente non sono previsti interventi di rigenerazione. Lo studio, condotto attraverso sopralluoghi e interviste ai favelados, ha consentito una mappatura dell’area, alla luce degli obiettivi della ricerca. Il fine è stato quello di definire un progetto di abitazioni di base minima, la cui realizzazione potesse avvenire in tempo breve, prevedendo al contempo anche un’espansione programmata tanto dell’impianto quanto del sistema-casa. La caratteristica principale della strategia proposta è infatti la volontà di fornire una possibile metodologia di intervento a lungo termine, potenzialmente capace di incidere gradualmente sull’assetto della comunità. L’elaborazione si basa sulla volontà di conservare la ricchezza sociale riscontrata nella comunità, incidendo sulle condizioni di vita e di convivenza attraverso il progetto dell’abitare quale motore per attivare il miglioramento e contribuire allo sviluppo dell’area. Così, partendo da considerazioni urbano-architettoniche ampie ed articolate, si è ragionato sulle modalità di recupero e riconfigurazione degli spazi aperti. Mentre il progetto di architettura, calato nel tessuto consolidato del caso di studio, ha parallelamente previsto la definizione di luoghi a carattere collettivo destinati ad accrescere la coesione comunitaria già riscontrata nella favela

Habitat improvements with wildlife purposes in a grazed area on the Apennine mountains

In many European countries, the abandonment of traditional practices in the last decades produced remarkable effects on agricultural land use. In marginal mountain lands, one of the most evident outcomes is the reduction of the surfaces occupied by open habitats, mostly represented by meadows and pastures. The ecological consequences of reduced grazing in the pastures concerned not only the vegetation structure but also the floristic composition and the biodiversity of the herbaceous component, which is modified by the progressive establishment of woody species. For these reasons, it is important to carry out specific programs of habitat improvements in order to restore and maintain herbaceous vegetation, both for faunistic purposes and biodiversity conservation. In this note we describe the effectiveness of agronomical intervention carried out to enhance pasture quality in a protected area, once grazed by domestic animals, now utilised exclusively by wild fauna. The study was carried out for five years in a Regional Park (Parco Regionale dei Laghi di Suviana e Brasimone, Emilia Romagna, central Italy), in an experimental area where the vegetation was characterised by a high presence of bracken fern. Agronomical operations consisted of the restoration of a pasture, using an appropriate forage mixture. After the restoration, data collection concerned botanical composition, floristic richness and biodiversity of vegetation. Moreover, the utilization of single species by wild fauna was assessed by means of the defoliation rate methodology in order to evaluate the real consumption of each plant species. The results obtained in the studied area confirmed the efficiency of the improvement in terms of botanical composition and pastoral value of the pasture and they provided detailed information about selection of different plant species by wild ungulates

"Pais apanham da vida e filhos apanham dos pais": desvelando as suspeitas de violência contra a criança a partir da experiência de estágio profissionalizante

O cotidiano é permeado por situações que envolvem a questão da violência. Ela se desenvolve de diversas formas e tem muitos fatores que contribuem para o seu estabelecimento, entre elas a falta de condições mínimas para a sobrevivência da família. Entretanto, a violência doméstica não ocorre apenas em famílias carentes; ela está presente em todas as classes sociais e é um fenômeno complexo que envolve diversas dimensões. Porém, o que podemos perceber é que, devido à fragilidade na qual as famílias mais desprovidas de recursos se encontram, as situações de violência acabam sendo mais expostas e identificadas. A violência doméstica, na infância, ainda pode ser considerada um tabu, pois desvela a intimidade da família, assim como aquela que maltrata, desperta nos outros o desejo de vingança e de atribuição de culpa, esperando a sua condenaçã

Application of Virtual Fencing for the management of Limousin cows at pasture

A potential use of pasture-based systems requires an efficient grazing management strategy. Thanks to the Virtual Fencing (VF) physical fences are replaced by virtual ones and, when the animals approach the boundaries, they receive a paired stimulus: an audio cue followed by a low electrical pulse if animals cross over the fences. This study aims to i) to evaluate the animal’s ability to learn, and then respond positively, to VF ii) VFs’ efficiency to manage the herd within grazing areas virtually delimitated; iii) to assess the chronic stress related to the VF, evaluating the hair cortisol concentration (HCC), during the experiment. Twenty Limousine cows were fitted with a commercial VF-GPS collars (Nofence AS, Batnfjordsør, Norway). The experiment was divided into four trials: Trial zero (T0) with inactive collars to let the animals get acquainted with them; Trial one (T1) where three of the four virtual boundaries coincided with the physical ones, while the virtual one was set across the pasture to restrict the grazing area; Trial two (T2) in which the grazing area was further extended moving forwards the virtual board; Trial three (T3) in which the virtual line was set longways to the pasture. Results show a significant decrease of stimuli delivered (i.e., sounds and electrical pulses) (p < 0.001), among trials. Moreover, a reduction (p < 0.0250) in the ratio between sounds and electrical pulses was observed between T1 and T3, with T2 being like both. Regarding the cows’ learning capacity, the events in which the sounds were followed by electrical pulses were significantly less in T3 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, in T3 the duration of the audio tones was lower than T1 and T2 (p < 0.0005). Animals were increasingly kept inside the inclusion zones during the trials, with the lowest number of escape events from the inclusion zone registered in T3 (p < 0.001). No differences were observed in the HCC before and after the VF treatment. The progressive reduction of the studied parameters between following sessions, indicates an increase in associative learning through time. VF virtual fencing has proven to be an effective tool in managing Limousin cows at pasture. However, future research is needed to evaluate the animals’ performances in terms of grazing activities and on the assessment of chronic stress conditions as well

When climate change and overexploitation meet in volcanic lakes. The lesson from lake Bracciano, Rome’s strategic reservoir

Lakes worldwide have been strongly affected by several types of human-caused alteration, including changes in water level. This also affects deep lakes, including volcanic ones. Volcanic lakes in the Mediterranean area are of great importance for the local economy, but local human activities can threaten their rich biodiversity. As a European biodiversity hotspot and habitat of endemic species, the volcanic Lake Bracciano (Central Italy) is an ecosystem of primary conservation interest threatened by sharply falling water levels, particularly since 2017. It also plays a key role in human wellbeing by providing important ecosystem services including drinking water, fisheries and various recreational opportunities. Although the lake has historically been considered to enjoy good ecological status, various environmental problems, often amplified by water level changes, have arisen during the last two decades. Given this recent rapid evolution, the lake can be considered an example of a valuable ecosystem at risk as a result of increasing anthropogenic pressures. The aim of this review is to examine the changes that have affected the lake in the last 20 years, considerably reducing its capacity to provide ecosystem services, and to review existing and potential threats in order to better inform the management of such resources

Editorial

Apresentação do dossiê temático e demais trabalhos desta edição. &nbsp