Action and reaction. Urban interventions and the role of institutions in post disaster Blumenau (Brazil)

Abstract

In November 2008, in the Itajai Valley in the South Region of Brazil, a disaster occurred with extreme of precipitation affecting 1.5 million people, with 135 dead and around 80,000 displaced or homeless. After the event, interventions were proposed in the City of Blumenau such as the urbanization on the margin of the Itajai-aí§u river in the central area. The paper addresses this intervention within the context of discussions on post disaster territorial planning and institutional performance in natural resource management and urban space. This case shows that despite the necessary reflection on the pattern of urban occupation, disasters become opportunities for interventions characterized as exceptions and emergency, without an adequate planning and discussion about the impacts of the social and ecological systems. The fragile governance resulted in a conflict between the county administration and the institutions and actors organized around environmental protection and the water resources, which has led to a gridlock in the emergency intervention.

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