Resiliencia comunitaria en contexto de desastre por COVID-19: resurgimiento y territorialización de las ollas comunes, el caso de Puente Alto

Abstract

This paper examines the resurgence of ‘ollas comunes’ in the context of slow disaster for COVID-19 in Puente Alto, a municipality in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Using the DROP model to conceptualise community disaster resilience, we investigate how local characteristics (namely, vulnerability levels and the natural, social and built environment) contribute to the development of these initiatives. First, using ArcGIS, we geolocate the ollas comunes in Puente Alto and create vulnerability maps at the neighbourhood scale; second, we use satellite imagery from Google Earth to examine the built environment; finally we rely on news portal and Instagram social media posts to investigate local social dynamics. We find that 80% of the ollas comunes are in areas with high vulnerability levels, where the pandemic dramatically decreased incomes, making it prohibitive for many families to buy food. Furthermore, we notice that certain patterns in the urban texture seem to favour a collective response to the crisis, aided by the strength of pre-existing social networks and the efficient use of social media. We build on these results to develop a critical discussion of the DROP model, and to argue for the importance of public policies supporting people’s right to access food.