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PhD Candidate: Alexandre Pereira Santos (CEN/MINGS/UHH, Climate Change and Security Research Group - CLISEC)

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran (CEN/MINGS/UHH, CLISEC), Dr Juan Miguel Rodriguez Lopez (CEN/MINGS/UHH, CLISEC).

It seems intuitive that certain parts  of cities are not developed evenly. It is also clear that some areas and social groups are more exposed to natural shocks than others. But how much so? And are there sudden changes in these differences? This research asks how natural, exogenous system shocks interact with the unequal features of urban development in the Global South. We seek to identify the linkages between formal and informal development to natural shocks in urban systems as emblematic representations of the set of impacts from future systemic crises (e.g., climate, biodiversity). These linkages will provide  insights into vulnerability research by integrating temporal and spatial nonlinearities. This research presents four phases into a mixed-methods approach. First, it uses quantitative research into risk decision-making and then qualitative investigation of participation and empowerment in volunteered geographic information (VGI) in informal settlements. Third, it presents a vulnerability model for COVID-19 that considers pre-existing environmental conditions in tandem with spatial and behavioural factors of the pandemic at the urban scale, using authoritative, open, and volunteered geographic information. Finally, it articulates future policy scenarios using agent-based modelling. The ultimate goal of this investigation is to contribute to adaptation policies and decision-making for the developing world, especially regarding spatial planning and land management that consider social and environmental justice and promote urban resilience.

Alexandre Pereira Santos is a PhD researcher at the Center for Earth Systems Research and Sustainability (CEN) at Hamburg University (UHH) and a member of the Research Group Climate and Security (CLISEC). He is originally from Brazil, develops his PhD as a DAAD Fellow (2019-2022). Along with Dr Rodrigues Lopez and colleagues, he recently received the "Corona Crisis and Beyond" grant from the Volkswagen Foundation for the research project "Volunteered Geographic Information on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South: Mixed-methods toolset for vulnerability, impact, and conflict in three Brazilian cities" (COVIDGI).