A new research project involving Edinburgh Napier's Institute for Sustainable Construction seeks to understand and ease social pressures and environmental concerns in the Colombian city of Quibdó.
Researchers from Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó Diego Luis Córdoba, recently visited the city of Quibdó in Colombia to conduct community workshops to discuss and find solutions to the socio-economic and ecological problems the city faces.
Quibdó's looming problems are partly caused by the rapid change of city centre building use, which is creating urban gentrification.
Gentrification is a distinct phenomenon often observed in European cities and is increasingly becoming an issue in Latin America.
Julio Bros-Williamson of The Scottish Energy Centre & Institute for Sustainable Construction said: “the problems of urban displacement caused by this rapid change of use have increased carbon emission levels produced by an extended workplace commute, larger electrical energy demand and other ecological pressures all impacting on the environment. We hope that our study will alleviate some of these impacts.”
Findings from this research will feature in two publications in early 2017.
This research received the support of an Institutional Links grant by the Newton Fund scheme from the British Council