From Extreme Weather Events to ‘Cascading Vulnerabilities’: Participatory Flood Research Methodologies in Brazil During COVID-19

• DOI: 10.1142/s2345737622410020
• Publication Date: 2022-08-31T15:39:29Z
• Authors: Nerea Calvillo; Joanne Garde-Hansen; Fernanda Lima-Silva; Rachel Trajber; João Porto de Alb...
• Keywords: Extreme Weather; Vulnerability

Extreme weather events are entangled with each other and extreme events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-racist protests, drought, a housing crisis, strikes, or climate emergencies, well more general inadequacies due to national, economic, political upheavals accreted vulnerabilities from long-term policies inactions. Effects of intensified by ongoing social injustices like poverty structural racism, deficit, consequent informal unplanned occupation hazardous areas, riverbanks, areas previous social-environmental disasters. In context Brazil, deforestation in Amazon (agribusiness, mining illegal wood) provoking droughts energy shortages region creates further that felt globally. this paper, our primary contribution these inter-connected scenarios is describe methodological interventions were made response COVID-19, show how those changes provided new insights into vulnerability processes both subjects researchers. During larger project (Waterproofing Data), focused on case study research São Paulo Acre (Brazil) wherein wider team conducted flood-risk community research, we forced rethink approach. We moved away singularity flood event its impacts toward acknowledging cascading conditions (caused weather, health, conditions). directly address ‘cascade vulnerabilities’ flood-prone communities already encounter when researchers seek engage them. open avenues reconsider citizenship, space, innovation terms key challenges methods encountered conducting participatory methodologies, particularly during first phase pandemic March 2020 November 2021. Through articulate contributions arts, humanities, sciences for realistic, just, caring practices within about ‘slow violence’ [Nixon, R (2013). Slow Violence Environmentalism Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP].