Representations of Spatial Transformations: Industrial Agriculture and Informal Settlements in Mercedes, Uruguay

This study focuses on the social construction of abstract space in the city of Mercedes (Uruguay), which implies social relations of production, representations of space, and spatial practices and their physical manifestations. Through elements of Lefebvre’s triad (1991), this study explores spatial changes and challenges of Mercedes related to the development of industrial agriculture, and the growth of informal settlements. Secondary data and resulting analytical maps are utilized to understand recent changes produced in the urban-rural space of Mercedes. Informal conversations with local and national government staff discussed regional and local plans and policies. Interactions between plans, policies, and foreign investments related to industrial agriculture and social mobility have transformed public spaces and existing neighborhoods. Despite economic growth, the social-spatial fragmentation has increased between the inner city and the periphery and/or informal settlements

The right to the city in informal settlements:: two case studies of post-disaster adaptation in Latin America

Today small-towns in western Uruguay are facing challenges related to informal settlements development, intensification of industrial agriculture, and climate change. In the last decade, different strategic plans and policies carried out by governments at multiple levels have attempted to regularize and/or resettle informal settlements in different towns and cities. Despite governmental efforts, informal settlements continue to grow in areas that are at high environmental risk, and where social-spatial fragmentation has increased between the formal and informal fabric. Lefebvre's concept "right to the city” is a response to social-spatial inequalities and it emphasizes the idea that disenfranchised communities have the right to occupy and transform urban space. Using Lefebvre's "right to the city” and "the production of space”, this paper studies informal housing and informal settlements in two neighborhoods in a small-town in western Uruguay and how they adapt to climate change consequences. It reveals how local residents occupy and transform space in two informal neighborhoods to solve their housing needs and to access to resources and infrastructure after an extreme weather event. Based on two case studies, this article reveals spatial patterns of informal settlements, the relationship between formal and informal fabric, and the ways post-disaster informal settlements and environments are represented. Field- work was conducted in 2018 and methods included spatial mapping analysis, semi-structured interviews with key actors, participant observation, and analyses of secondary data. Findings suggest that top-down bureaucratic decision-making process during post-disaster reconstruction limited residents' agency and their right to participate and transform the urbanization process and the places they inhabit. This decision-making process was guided by restricted representations of space determining whether or not residents would qualify for subsidized housing programs. This study aims to encourage communities to develop community-based initiatives that could allow them not only to anticipate and react to environmental stresses but to thrive in the long-term future

The Actual Cost of Food Systems on Roadway Infrastructure

This project was designed to provide more insight into the infrastructure challenges of agricultural enterprises in Iowa and to also facilitate the understanding needed to implement broader energy-related policy and planning. This work will also provide farmers and farmer networks with the necessary resources to justify increased local and state investments in the local and regional food systems

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Abstract space: the impact of the rational paradigm of local and state plans on informal settlements.

Today, rural areas of Mercedes/Soriano in western Uruguay are facing changes related to rural-urban migration and the development of industrial agriculture. As a result of rural migration, economic crises, labor issues, and other critical problems, the outskirts of Mercedes began to be appropriated by squatters. In the last few years different strategic plans and policies carried out by governments at multiple levels have attempted to regularize and relocate some of the informal settlements. Using Lefebvre’s (1991) theory of space, this study explores how plans under the rational paradigm have transformed the spatial practice of informal settlements in Mercedes, Uruguay. Rationality embodies the contradictions between planning theory or research and current practice. Secondary data and resulting analytical maps are utilized to understand recent changes produced in the urban-rural space of Mercedes. Regional and local plans and policies are discussed through informal conversations with staff from local and national governments. Results show that interactions between plans, policies, and social mobility have transformed public spaces and existing neighborhoods, emphasizing the social-spatial fragmentation between the inner city and the periphery and/or informal settlements. Recommendations center on how governmental institutions can develop new policies and regulations to improve and change critical aspects of Mercedes’ growth.</p

Representations of Spatial Transformations: Industrial Agriculture and Informal Settlements in Mercedes, Uruguay

This study focuses on the social construction of abstract space in the city of Mercedes (Uruguay), which implies social relations of production, representations of space, and spatial practices and their physical manifestations. Through elements of Lefebvre’s triad (1991), this study explores spatial changes and challenges of Mercedes related to the development of industrial agriculture, and the growth of informal settlements. Secondary data and resulting analytical maps are utilized to understand recent changes produced in the urban-rural space of Mercedes. Informal conversations with local and national government staff discussed regional and local plans and policies. Interactions between plans, policies, and foreign investments related to industrial agriculture and social mobility have transformed public spaces and existing neighborhoods. Despite economic growth, the social-spatial fragmentation has increased between the inner city and the periphery and/or informal settlements.This article is from Spaces and Flows: An International Journal of Urban and ExtraUrban Studies 2 (2013): 163–182, doi:10.18848/2154-8676/CGP/v02i04/53672. Posted with permission.</p