More than a year ago, Ecuador suffered a 7.8 Mw earthquake that was devastating, the automatic response was to run to the affected areas and rebuild.  Meche’s House is an alternative: the crisis as an opportunity to experiment and consolidate popular construction systems based on an endogenous and holistic approach. This study evaluates two case studies and their contrasting methodologies in their process of selecting beneficiaries for post-disaster reconstruction: Casa Lista of Mutualista Pichincha and La Casa de Meche, differentiating both cases from analyzing their different approaches: the automatic one, non-reflective and product-based, the other analytical and process-based. Founded on experience and how different processes need different beneficiaries, this study will raise some questions about the effectiveness, pros, cons, and perspectives of different approaches to right...

This article analyzes urban planning and historic preservation following Cusco’s 1950 earthquake through a case study of the Templo de Santiago. Reports and correspondence from various organizations reveals how budgetary decisions and planning goals shaped preservation and development in Cusco. The case of the Templo de Santiago illustrates the challenges faced by neighborhoods affiliated with historic sites that were not priorities for reconstruction or tourism after the earthquake. This case also demonstrates how the language of historic preservation facilitated an economic transformation that went far beyond the scope of post-disaster relief, and that those transformations had long-term implications for cusqueños.

This article analyzes urban planning and historic preservation following Cusco’s 1950 earthquake through a case study of the Templo de Santiago. Reports and correspondence from various organizations reveals how budgetary decisions and planning goals shaped preservation and development in Cusco. The case of the Templo de Santiago illustrates the challenges faced by neighborhoods affiliated with historic sites that were not priorities for reconstruction or tourism after the earthquake. This case also demonstrates how the language of historic preservation facilitated an economic transformation that went far beyond the scope of post-disaster relief, and that those transformations had long-term implications for cusqueños.

This article analyzes urban planning and historic preservation following Cusco’s 1950 earthquake through a case study of the Templo de Santiago. Reports and correspondence from various organizations reveals how budgetary decisions and planning goals shaped preservation and development in Cusco. The case of the Templo de Santiago illustrates the challenges faced by neighborhoods affiliated with historic sites that were not priorities for reconstruction or tourism after the earthquake. This case also demonstrates how the language of historic preservation facilitated an economic transformation that went far beyond the scope of post-disaster relief, and that those transformations had long-term implications for cusqueños.

More than a year ago, Ecuador suffered a 7.8 Mw earthquake that was devastating, the automatic response was to run to the affected areas and rebuild.  Meche’s House is an alternative: the crisis as an opportunity to experiment and consolidate popular construction systems based on an endogenous and holistic approach. This study evaluates two case studies and their contrasting methodologies in their process of selecting beneficiaries for post-disaster reconstruction: Casa Lista of Mutualista Pichincha and La Casa de Meche, differentiating both cases from analyzing their different approaches: the automatic one, non-reflective and product-based, the other analytical and process-based. Founded on experience and how different processes need different beneficiaries, this study will raise some questions about the effectiveness, pros, cons, and perspectives of different approaches to right...

More than a year ago, Ecuador suffered a 7.8 Mw earthquake that was devastating, the automatic response was to run to the affected areas and rebuild.  Meche’s House is an alternative: the crisis as an opportunity to experiment and consolidate popular construction systems based on an endogenous and holistic approach. This study evaluates two case studies and their contrasting methodologies in their process of selecting beneficiaries for post-disaster reconstruction: Casa Lista of Mutualista Pichincha and La Casa de Meche, differentiating both cases from analyzing their different approaches: the automatic one, non-reflective and product-based, the other analytical and process-based. Founded on experience and how different processes need different beneficiaries, this study will raise some questions about the effectiveness, pros, cons, and perspectives of different approaches to right...