5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014 Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice 24-28 August 2014 in Davos, Switzerland

1. Enhancement of Urban Security
through Community Empowerment –
A Local Perspective
Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction
Setúbal Municipality, Portugal:
City Councilman Carlos Alberto Rabaçal

2. Objectives
 Security Theories
 Threats / Risks
 The Territory – Setúbal
 Our Neighborhood, Our City – Program
 Intercultural Mediation in Public Services
 Municipal Intervention Plan for Setúbal Historical
Center
 Added Value.
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3. 3
Security (Booth, 2008)
1. “Insecurity is a life-determining condition”
 Insecurity involves living in fear, with dangers arising from one
or more types of threat (…) security is equivalent to survival-plus
(the plus being some freedom from life-determining
threats, and therefore space to make choices).
 Survival is being alive; security is living.
2. “Security is an instrumental value”
Absolute security is a dream. It is possible to distinguish
between subjective and non-subjective security. One can
feel safe (with no sense of imminent danger) without being
safe, and likewise one can be free of ‘real’ threats without
believing it to be the case.
Booth, K. (2007). Theory of World Security, p. 95-110, Cambridge University Press, New York.

4. 4
Security (Booth, 2008)
2. “Security is an instrumental value”
 Survival was equated with existence – enduring as a physical
being – while security was described as survival-plus. The plus
here is the choice that comes from (relative) freedom from
existential threats, and it is this freedom that gives security its
instrumental value.
3. “Security is a powerful political word”
 “The word security is related to (…) positive conditions of
living”
 “The word security in political discourse signifies priority” (…)
“Once the security label has been attached to an issue, it
changes from being a problem to a priority for society.”
Booth, K. (2007). Theory of World Security, p. 95-110, Cambridge University Press, New York.

5. 5
Security (Booth, 2008)
4. “Security is a derivative concept”
 “In this sense, the search for security through emancipatory
politics – lifting people as individuals and groups out of
structural and contingent oppressions such as war and
poverty – is part of the project of inventing humanity.”
Security (Williams, 2008)
“Security is most commonly associated with the alleviation of
threats to cherished values; specially those which, if left
unchecked, threaten the survival of a particular referent object
in the near future.”
Booth, K. (2007). Theory of World Security, p. 95-110, Cambridge University Press, New York.

6. 6
Security (Williams, 2008)
Security
Philosophies
Accumulation
of power
Emancipation
(Human Rights)
Williams, P. D. (2008). Security Studies - An Introduction (1.ª ed.). Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 5.

7. Threats / Risks
7
World Economic Forum (2014). Global Risks 2014 (9.th ed.). Davos: World Economic Forum. p. 5.

8. The Territory - Setúbal
Image Source: http://goo.gl/gK9GNV
Image Source: http://goo.gl/uxzNZ3
Image Source: http://goo.gl/3ooEKf
Population: 119.799
Total Area: 171.9 km2
Statistics Portugal 2012
87 Nationalities
Foreign population
6.621
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9. Work Force
Source: INE, PORDATA (2013)
Activity Sectors (Setúbal)
Primary Secondary Terciary
1960 2011 1960 2011 1960 2011
6.058 782 10456 12.331 7852 36.301
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1960 2011
Primary
Secondary
Terciary
Unemployment Rate
(Portugal)
15,1
Statistics Portugal (1st Trimester 2014)
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10. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OUR CITY
BELA VISTA
ALAMEDA
DAS
PALMEIRAS
FORTE DA
BELA VISTA
MANTEIGADA
QTA.
STO.ANTÓNIO
5 QUARTERS OF SOCIAL HOUSING:
153 BUILDINGS / 1592 HOUSES / 5769
RESIDENTS
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11. Before (Security News)
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12. Management Model
Resident
meetings
Management
of the
participation
and
organization of
the residents
Residents
make
decisions
Partnership
Collective
action in the
resolution of
problems
Participation
in the
rehabilitation
of buildings
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13. 13
Management Model
1. Strategic Goals
 All actions should be carried out by the residents themselves
and ENCOURAGE THEIR PARTICIPATION in the decisions that
concern them and their community, promoting AUTONOMY,
RESPONSABILITY AND COLLETIVE GROWTH.
2. General Objective
 To set in motion PARTICIPATION PROCESSES and the
development of ACTIONS THAT PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION
OF GROUPS which reflect their interests; which envolve the
residents in the decisions and tasks required for their actions,
identifying LEADERS and promoting the MOBILIZATION OF THE
PEOPLE.

14. 14
Management Model
1. Lines of Intervention
 Line 1 – Youth intervention
 Line 2 – Education, training and employment
 Line 3 – Image and Visibility
 Line 4 – Life in community
 Line 5 – Promotion and Participation of the people

15. 15
Organized
Residents
Commission of
Residents
Condominium
Working groups
Elected resident
14 Municipal
Services
20 technicians
4 Heads of Division
Institutions and
Entities
25 involved
66 meetings
Interveners and Stakeholders

16. 16
Indicators and results of the participation
and organization of the residents in 2014
1. Lines of Intervention
• 574 resident meetings
• 3140 residents present in the meetings
• 228 interlocutors (they are elected by the residents)
• 109 meetings with organized groups of volunteers
• 1 Commission of Residents in the quarter of Forte da Bela Vista
• 1 Youth Association in the quarter of Manteigada
• 77 Activities performed by organized residents with the suport of municipal services and
institutions
• 132 buildings e 6 courtyards with organized groups of residents
• 68 of all 153 buildings have organized groups of residents for rehabilitation works
• 12 buildings in the Bela Vista quarter have been painted and restored by residents
• 4 staircases in Alameda das Palmeiras, 9 in Quinta de Santo António and 16 in Manteigada
have been restored by residents
• The quarter of Forte da Bela Vista has been completely painted and restored by residents (20
buildings)

17. After (Community News)
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BEFORE AFTER

18. After (Community News)

19. 19
2013 – 2017 Strategy
1. Direct and collective participation of the residents;
2. Promote the organization of the community among the residents of the
municipal social houses;
3. Continue and deepen the process of rehabilitation of the buildings
based on the residents’ organization;
4. Creation of local social units;
5. Promotion of formal groups of organized residents such as
condominiums, commissions, associations and other non-formal groups
in order to enhance the cooperation and collective partnership;

20. 20
2013 – 2017 Strategy
6. Consolidation of the participative model of the administration of social
housing;
7. Reinforcement of the role of the interlocutor of the building or
courtyard, elected by the residents, representing the interests and the
development of the actions collectively decided;
8. Intensification of the integrated model of the territorial administration of
social housing;
9. Implementing the programme “our neighbourhood, our city” by
actions that reflect the plurality of competences and technical and
popular skills (culture, sports and education).

21. Intercultural Mediation in Public Services
The mediation team consist of 3 agents of
intercultural mediation (the immigrant),
coordinated by de local council.
• Principle of Interculturality
• Principle of Mediation
• Principle of Community Intervention

22. Intercultural Mediation in Public Services
General Goals
•Develop an intervention based on a working model founded on
interculturality and mediation principles in municipal territories
•Improve life quality of communities, promoting new intercultural
relationships and contribute to local development and social
cohesion

23. Intercultural Mediation Project in Public Services
Intervention Axes:
1. Support to professionals and institutions
2. Social and citizen participation
3. Intercultural interaction
Promoting Intercultural Dialogue Activities
Maio – Mês do Diálogo Intercultural
May - Intercultural Dialogue Month
Ciclo de Conversas Interculturais
Intercultural Conversations Cycle
Praça do Mundo – Feira de Sant’iago
World Square
Dia Internacional das Migrações
International Migration Day
Festival de Música de Setúbal
Setúbal Music Festival

24. Municipal Intervention Plan for
Setúbal Historical Center
Area: 589.459,00 m2
Buildings: 2141
Public Spaces: 197
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25. 25
Municipal Intervention Plan for
Setúbal Historical Center

26. Programs Actions
1. FIRST INTERVENTION CABINETS
2. SAFETY SIGNS
3. HELIPORT BUILDING
4. FIRE HYDRANTS
5. EQUIPMENTS AQUISITION
6. GEOREFERENCE INFORMATION SYSTEM
7. AWARENESS, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
8. TRAINING
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27. Programs Actions
32 Fire Prevention
Cabinets
27
Personal Protective Equipments
Urban Fire Protective Suit, Helmet, Gloves e
Boots
First Intervention Equipments
2 hoselines, 1 nozzle, 1 wye with valves, 1 storz union, 1 Dry Chemical
fire extinguisher, 1 Pressurized Water Fire Extinguisher.

28. 28
Programs Actions
250 Evacuation route signs

29. 29

30. Programs Actions
5 Information Panels
Collective Dissemination;
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31. Programs Actions
31
21 SOS Collums – Reunion Points
•Sound alarm system
•Individual communication
•Collective Dissemination

32. 32
ADDED VALUE FOR THE POST 2015 FRAMEWORK
FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
1. Building networks composed by individuals or groups at
local level allows the strength of social cohesion in times
of adversity.
2. Adoption of Risk management has a comprehensive
approach, detecting emerging threats (strategic
foresight initiatives), preparing for change;
3. Alternative proposals to enhance and cement
democracy as a fundamental value thought security
developments.

33. “The search for security through emancipatory politics
(…) is part of the project of inventing humanity”
Thank You
Booth, (2007).
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