To preserve the stories of resiliency and document the infrastructure damages caused by Hurricanes Irma and María and the 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico, the timely collection of evidence is essential. To address this need, case studies of damages caused by the natural disasters and a repository of information aimed to keep record and centralize information regarding relevant cases that provide examples of evidence of infrastructure damages and processes worth preserving is needed.
To develop said case studies and a repository, a two-prong approach was used in this study. First, the case study methodology was followed. According to Yin, a case study is “an intense study of a single unit with the purpose of a larger class of (similar) units”. Case studies are used in academia for both research and teaching purposes. Our research team advocates for the use of case studies as tools to inform both learning and decision-making. Secondly, the repository model was developed.
This paper presents the results of the development of the repository and includes sample case studies. The repository allows students, academics, researchers, and other stakeholders to understand the impact of extreme environmental conditions on the built environment. Faculty can use the repository in their courses to teach Architecture, Engineering and Construction students topics related to resiliency and sustainability in the build environment. Each case study developed and deposited in the repository, answers to research questions regarding what, how and when the damages happened, who were the stakeholders involved in the processes, what were their actions, and what are the lessons learned. The case studies have the potential of becoming responses to hypotheses for those mining the repository. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting the results of the development of case studies and a database that can be used for both research and teaching purposes. These can be replicated in the US and other countries, in need of recording and systematizing information after natural events.
B.S. in Roadways and Transportation Engineering from Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia (UPTC) in 1988; master's and Ph.D. degrees from University of Puerto Rico UPR- Mayaguez Campus (UPRRM) received in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Professor of Structures at School of Architecture at UPR- Rio Piedras Campus since 1997. Research interest in seismic engineering and retrofitting of buildings; seismic vulnerability analysis; design of reinforced concrete structures; design of steel structures, among other topics. Licensed Professional Engineer in Puerto Rico since 1996.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4736-1431
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
[biography]
Faculty at the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. He received his Architecture Diploma from UNET in Venezuela (1990), MSc in Social Psychology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1997), and PhD (2006) from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the University of Puerto Rico in 2004, and since then he has been head of both the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs. His research interests include thinking and problem solving, connected to the use of models for simulation and problem solving in design, as well as the study of the impact of tools, communication, and collaboration in the professional practice of design. More recently, his work has focused on research leading to a better understanding of the presence of microorganisms in the built environment.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0334-7208
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
[biography]
Dr. Carla López del Puerto is a professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM). She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Saint Louis University in 2009, M.S. in Construction Management from The University of Oklahoma in 2003 and B.S. in Architecture from Universidad de las Américas Puebla, México in 2000. Prior to joining UPRM, she was a designer and cost estimator for The Benham Companies, an instructor at Southern Illinois University and an assistant professor at Colorado State University. Her research agenda focuses on construction management research and construction education and training.
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