Bangkok's Songkran 2024 Integrates Live Community-Mapping Software "happining.city"

April 10, 2024

Collective Resilience Network and MIT Urban Risk Lab have teamed up with The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Bangkok Bank to introduce "Happining.City," a digital mapping initiative for Songkran 2024. Accessible via the Happining.City website, the platform consolidates information on all 118 Songkran festival locations throughout Bangkok. The website provides detailed insights into each event's format, enabling users to pinpoint specific activities and explore various venues. It also shows alerts on road-closures to residents navigate the city during the event.

Happining.City encourages active participation by allowing users to share updates on water play spots, event ambiance, and traffic conditions in real-time. Integration with the LINE app simplifies the process of pinning locations, ensuring user-friendly engagement. Additionally, the platform offers coordinates for recommended Songkran destinations and updates on Wan Lai 2024 in Pattaya City, including beachfront traffic arrangements.

Supported by Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, the digital mapping initiative seeks to enhance convenience and safety during Songkran, fostering a distributed and enjoyable experience across the city. With a focus on community engagement and cultural preservation, the platform invites locals and tourists alike to partake in the festivities while contributing to the collective spirit of the occasion.

Bridging Communities and Corporations: "COPIN X BOI" Initiative Unveiled in Bangkok

March 1, 2024

Collective Resilience Network and MIT Urban Risk Lab's Pimpakarn (Prim) Rattanathumawat delivered a presentation titled "COPIN X BOI: a Platform for Matching CSR Resources with Local Needs" on March 1, 2024, at the "Multilateral Collaboration for Sustainability" event held in Bangkok, Thailand. Hosted by The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand along with several other organizations, including The Board of Investment of Thailand and The Stock Exchange of Thailand, the event aimed to foster collaboration between the private sector and local communities for sustainable development.

Rattanathumawat's presentation focused on the initiative to bridge the private sector's resources with local community needs, particularly through the COPIN platform. This work is supported by The MIT Climate and Sustainblity Consortium and being developed in collaboration with the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) and The Bangkok Bank. By partnering with the Board of Investment (BOI) initiatives, this platform, facilitates the matching of corporate social responsibility (CSR) resources with communities in need. Notably, COPIN not only facilitates resource matching but also serves as a data collection tool, enabling collaborative efforts to gather essential local data crucial for fostering sustainable and climate-resilient communities.

The significance of this project lies in its emphasis on enabling grassroots sustainability, addressing inequality, and enhancing community resilience through collaborative efforts between the private sector and local communities.

Bosai+ at Bangkok Design Week 2024: Integrating Disaster Preparedness into Everyday Life

January 27, 2024

In collaboration with Collective Resilience Network, MIT Urban Risk Lab researchers Pimpakarn (Prim) Rattanathumawa and Eakapob (Pob) Huangthanapan presented the "Bosai+ Exhibition: Designing for Everyday Uncertainty" at Bangkok Design Week 2024, held by the Creative Economy Agency (CEA) from January 27th to February 4th in Bangkok, Thailand. The presentation introduced BOSAI+, an initiative by the Urban Risk Lab, which focuses on integrating disaster preparedness into daily life through innovative design solutions. The exhibition showcased prototypes of personal objects that embed disaster preparedness, response, and awareness into everyday items. This initiative strives to foster a culture of preparedness and risk reduction, emphasizing the importance of proactive measures in the face of uncertainty.

For those interested in further updates and availability of BOSAI+ products, sign-ups are available through the BOSAI+ website.

MIT Urban Risk Lab Presents Housing Recovery Toolkit at Pre-Disaster Housing Planning Initiative

November 8, 2023

Larisa Ovalles Paulino, a researcher at MIT Urban Risk Lab, delivered a presentation titled "Innovation and Best Practices in Recovery Housing" on November 8, 2023, at the Pre-Disaster Housing Planning Initiative event held in Chicago. Hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the presentation delved into the development of the Housing Recovery Toolkit.

The Toolkit serves as a resource for local governments, aiding in the creation of a comprehensive disaster housing pre-planning process that aligns with broader housing and economic objectives. Drawing on insights from interviews with state housing experts and firsthand experiences of communities and survivors, the Toolkit emphasizes the importance of integrating disaster housing considerations throughout the planning continuum.

Ovalles Paulino's presentation included discussions of building resilient housing stock, streamlining planning processes, and operationalizing local preparedness efforts. The initiative, informed by collaborations with five pilot cities, aims to enhance capacity and preparedness at the local level by offering accessible and standardized resources through an online platform.

This presentation contributed to the larger mission of the Pre-Disaster Housing Planning Initiative, which seeks to bolster collaboration between state emergency managers and housing representatives, emphasizing proactive pre-disaster planning and knowledge sharing to better prepare communities for future disasters.

MIT Urban Risk Lab Discusses Disaster Preparedness with Japanese High-School Students

March 25, 2023

On March 25, 2023, MIT Urban Risk Lab's Saeko Nomura Baird gave a talk titled "Reducing Risk through Design and Technology" to students from the Ibaraki Prefectural Tsuchiura First High School. The main purpose of the talk was to emphasize the crucial role of design in enhancing safety and resilience, especially in disaster-prone regions like Japan.

During the presentation, Nomura Baird highlighted the gap in awareness about existing disaster mitigation mechanisms, such as public parks serving as evacuation spaces, despite Japan's proactive stance on disaster preparedness. The talk underscored the importance of integrating disaster preparedness seamlessly into daily landscapes and systems through innovative design solutions. By leveraging ethnographic insights into local culture and practices, Nomura Baird's approach focuses on making disaster preparedness an inherent part of everyday life, ultimately ensuring greater resilience in times of crisis.

The talk aligns with the broader work of the Urban Risk Lab, emphasizing practical solutions rooted in research and design that address the challenges of disaster mitigation and preparedness. By bridging the gap between everyday life and disaster situations, Nomura Baird's proposed methodology contributes to ongoing efforts to build resilient communities worldwide.

MIT Urban Risk Lab's work presented at APA World Town Planning Day

November 16, 2022

The American Planning Association celebrated World Town Planning Day on November 8, 2022, with the theme of "Think Global, Plan Local". Mayank Ojha, a member of the Urban Risk Lab, was a panelist at the event, where he presented on "Embedding resiliency in the design and management of cities". Ojha's presentation highlighted the importance of incorporating resiliency into urban planning and management in order to create smart, sustainable, and resilient communities and cities. He discussed the Urban Risk Lab's work in developing tools and frameworks to support decision-making in urban planning and management, with the aim of creating more resilient cities while emphasizing the need to take a holistic approach to urban planning, considering the social, economic, and environmental factors that affect a city's ability to withstand and recover from shocks.

New book chapter outlines lessons from RiskMap India for civic sensing during climate disasters

November 15, 2022

With the increased risk and uncertainty brought about by climate-induced floods and cascading disasters, it is essential to empower bottom-up informational networks and community actors as equal partners in scenario planning for future flood events. The bi-directional communication and real-time collaboration tools, such as RiskMap, can help facilitate a wide range of response activities such as community-led evacuation, emergency shelter registration, resource and supply sharing, and navigation for residents.

Based on RiskMap’s pilot in the city of Chennai, India, this invited book chapter outlines the lessons for the role collective civic voluntarism can play during flood events.

Barve, Aditya, Miho Mazereeuw, and Mayank Ojha. "Situational awareness for all: from sensing to collaboration using real-time communication in cities affected by climate change." Handbook on Climate Change and Disasters. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. 663-675.

Magazine Beach Park Nature Center

October 24, 2022

Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the protection of birds, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on the greatest challenges facing the environment today: the loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and climate change.

Mass Audubon will bring the Nature in the City program to Magazine Beach Park, thanks to a partnership between Mass Audubon and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The Magazine Beach Park Nature Center is located along the Charles River in Cambridge. From April to November, Mass Audubon will host drop-in nature programs at the historic Powder Magazine building, which will also serve as a home base for school, family, and adult programming on and around the river.

The Urban Risk Lab is collaborating with Mass Audubon to design and create a series of modular structures that will house exhibition and educational content for Mass Audubon’s nature programming, as well as a snack bar to invite daily visitors and host large community events. The six structures feature interactive components to encourage curiosity and learning of the main species and ecosystems found in the area and promote climate engagement and education. 

MIT Urban Risk Lab's work presented at Universidad CEU San Pablo, Spain

October 18, 2022

On October 18th, 2022, the Escuela Politécnica Superior at Universidad CEU San Pablo in Spain hosted a lecture by Larisa Ovalles on the topic of “Reducing Risk through Design.” Ovalles presented several design projects from the MIT Urban Risk Lab, which focus on reducing risk and increasing resilience in the urban environment across scales - from individual action to community and regional strategies.The lecture was part of a design studio at the Escuela Politécnica Superior, titled “Ecologies of Intimacy: Borders. In Between Devastation and Life: The dynamics of the burnt forest and their communities.” The studio, led by Professors María Auxiliadora Gálvez Pérez and Valerio Oriol Canals Revilla, focuses on exploring the connections between architecture, ecology, and community.

MIT Urban Risk Lab at Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems workshop at MIT

October 6, 2022

Mayank Ojha, research associate at the MIT Urban Risk Lab, presented at the Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems workshop at MIT on October 6, 2022, during the session on "Climate, Life, Earth and Planet Systems". The topic of the presentation was "Localizing Climate Impacts for Sustainable Strategies". Ojha discussed the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, their disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities and the challenges they face in understanding and planning for future risks. He highlighted the need for more high-resolution data and better communication of information from climate science projections to enable these communities to participate in planning for near and long-term action. As part of the MIT Climate Grand Challenge, the Urban Risk Lab is working with communities to map local "consequence thresholds" and use this information to inform climate science projections and support collective planning and decision-making.

Critical Conversations for Urban Transformation: Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities Launch Symposium

September 28, 2022

On September 27 and 28, 2022, the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities brought together an international community of urban scholars, activists, artists, and practitioners to commemorate the center's inaugural event. The two-day symposium discussed two major issues plaguing cities globally – increasing inequality and tackling climate change – as well as the role of research in ameliorating these issues. Prof. Miho Mazereeuw was the final speaker for this event and emphasized the role of design in fostering resilience.

Urban Risk Lab's proposal receives inaugural MCSC Seed Award

June 1, 2022

The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) is a cross-institute effort to accelerate research and implementation of large-scale, cross-sector, real-world solutions addressing global climate and sustainability (C&S) challenges. In its first-ever 2022 MCSC Seed Awards program, MCSC selected 20 projects from all five of MIT’s schools.

In collaboration with Prof. Nicholas de Monchaux, this project aims to develop new ways to assimilate bottom-up knowledge in otherwise top-down climate preparedness and response efforts. Through collaborative, community-level data collection, coordination, and planning this toolkit will help foster a culture of consensual, inclusive policy-making around difficult choices such as relocation in the face of exacerbating climate-change impacts.

"Preparing for a New World of Weather and Climate Extremes" is selected as a flagship project for MIT climate grand challenge

April 15, 2022

MIT Climate Grand Challenge is an initiative to deliver high-impact climate solutions. In the first round, 27 teams as finalists from a field of nearly 100 initial proposals. “Preparing for a New World of Weather and Climate Extremes,” a project led by Professor Paul O’Gorman, Associate Professor Miho Mazereeuw, and Professor Kerry Emanuel, was among the five of the most promising proposals that are selected as multi-year flagship projects.

Climate change intensifies extreme weather and climate events, such as the unprecedented heatwave in western North America in 2021 and rainfall from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. These devastating events are becoming more intense globally. Still, we do not adequately know the changing risks for specific regions and communities or how changing extremes will affect the broader use of wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy that is needed to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. This research will address these critical knowledge gaps by improving the science and prediction of extremes and their effects on our energy systems. Based on the improved projections of extremes, This research will build a scalable toolkit, initially focused on cities in the United States and Africa, for communities and stakeholders to prepare and adapt. Our team brings together experts in climate science, engineering, design, and machine learning at MIT with external partners to provide the most significant benefit to communities, municipalities, and industry.

REACT AI: Partnering with Japanese Cities to automate real-time disaster triage.

March 1, 2022

Timely and detailed information is critical during a disaster. With mainstreaming of social-media-based civic voluntarism during disasters, disaster managers often find themselves in a situation where they get overwhelmed by information streaming in through various channels. Real-time Emergency Assessment, Coordination, & Triage (REACT) AI is a research project aimed to automate the triage of this incoming image and text information and help disaster managers focus on areas that need the most attention. By working directly with Emergency Operations Centers in Japanese cities, this project closely integrates non-government and community-led organizations in disaster response, strengthening long-term resilience planning.  

We are also conducting workshops with domain experts and disaster responders to understand the human factors affecting AI outputs and improve labeling criteria for training datasets. These workshops aimed to create tasks and labels consistent with the city’s protocol, are more objective for labelers, and are structured to help make operational decisions based on REACT output. In addition to piloting this model in real-life disaster drills, resulting datasets and underlying methodology will be open-sourced, helping drive the real-world impact of this project.

The project is supported by Google.org and undertaken in partnership with the University of Tsukuba, and Mercy Corps.

Porosity Map: Using MIT campus as a living lab for climate-change resilience through citizen science

October 3, 2021

The MIT campus sits on reclaimed land, originally tidal flats. Since reclamation, both the city and the campus have grown at a rapid pace during the past 100 years. With sea-level rise, increased precipitation, and the associated risk of increasing storm surges it is vital to assess the flood vulnerability of the MIT campus. 

Through this project, we developed a chatbot-based tool that can be used on any mobile phone. This tool will allow for data collection for the whole campus through a group effort with students. This exercise will involve MIT students in an important experiment that also increases their awareness of flood issues and their own stewardship on campus.  Working over three days, members of the Porosity hunt catalogued openings in dozens of buildings across campus to better support flood mapping and resiliency planning at MIT

Read more at MIT News

Pre-planning Toolkit Basic Workshop: Chelsea, MA

March 30th and 31st, 2021

As part of the Housing Pre-Planning Toolkit project, Larisa Ovalles and Charlotte Matthai led the first ‘Basic Level’ workshop with the Chelsea Disaster Housing Working Group in partnership with the Boston Office of Emergency Management. The two-day workshop facilitated conversations around long-term resilient planning and disaster housing following the Toolkit framework.

SEED Prototype passes container testing

February 11, 2021

An important part of the SEED unit design is its ability to travel flexibly through the international container intermodal system as a certified container. This gives it the ability to get to tropical islands as quickly as possible following a disaster to meet the housing needs of disaster survivors. In order to ensure it can travel safely as a container, the units needs to undergo extensive full scale structural testing to simulate common loading experienced by containers on trucks, rail cars, or stacked on a container ship.

Working with Container Testing and Certification, Inc. we developed a specialized testing procedure to use with the SEED prototype that also meets the International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) requirements. Earlier this week the SEED passed all required tests to be certified to CSC standards.

Thanks to Mark Brennan and Sam Markey Productions for the testing process photos.

Two Awards for "Resilient Planning at Multiple Scales: Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico"

November 6th, 2020

Resilient Planning at Multiple Scales Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico received two major awards:

In partnership with the Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja (Puerto Rico), ResilientSEE, Perkins&Will, NASA Develop (Hampton, VA), Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón Architecture and Interiors (Puerto Rico), WSP (Boston, MA), Moffatt & Nichol (Florida) and SGH (Waltham, MA).

Pre-planning Toolkit Basic Workshop: Boston, MA

October 19th and 21st, 2020

As part of the Housing Pre-Planning Toolkit project, Larisa Ovalles and Charlotte Matthai led the first ‘Basic Level’ workshop with the Boston Disaster Housing Working Group. The two-day workshop facilitated conversations around long-term resilient planning and disaster housing following the Toolkit framework.

SEED Prototype Complete

September 28, 2020

The first prototype of the SEED (Shelter for Emergency and Expansion Design) has been completed at a fabrication facility in Pennsylvania in partnership with AMSS. David Moses made the trip to the factory to do a final punchlist of the unit. Thank you to everyone involved in the prototyping effort. We are excited to move into the testing and evaluation phase of the project.