Collaborating with the government in resilient community work promotion

It has been the second year since we started to promote resilient community in Gongguan district of southern Taipei. Thinking back to the beginning stage, teachers and students of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) bore the passion of serving the community to knock on the door to the neighborhood expressing the intention in promoting community disaster prevention, hoping to gain the support and participation of the residents.

People asked that the government held disaster prevention propaganda every year, what was so different about the resilience enhancement in the USR project?

After the Taiwan retrocession, several urban settlements formed in the Gongguan district. Residents of these settlements formed their own group, and the disaster prevention routes tended to detour these settlements. For a more comprehensive consideration of the disaster prevention design, the settlements should not be excluded from the planning. Military village has been the core of our USR project. Our policy is to connect with the outside world through historical culture to promote the community renewal and vitalization, with the ultimate goal of hoping the residents and land of the military village could breach the gap with their neighborhood, elevating the community resilience under the exhaustive disaster prevention planning.

ABMAC Village is the starting point of the project. We have managed to gradually relief the guards of the residents, shifting the residents from doubting to seeking cooperation and willing to receive the students into the village for practice. Ministry of National Defense also advanced from the rule of property management to our partner in promoting the activation of the historical building. Project USR of NTUST was the pushing hand to the vitalization of the historical building Anzhai No. 3 in the ABMAC Village; we were pleased to see that the effort invested by our team has taken effect.

With reaching out to the neighborhood outside of the village, it has been our primary task to seek the support of the village chiefs these days. Facing the urbanization and the aging population, the elements that the village chiefs need to consider become relevantly complex. Village chiefs welcome the visit of Project USR and mostly show their support. In order to speed up the promotion of community disaster prevention work, in addition to Ministry of National Defense, we also began collaborating with District Offices and Taipei City Fire Department; hoping to strengthen the confidence of village chiefs working with the promotion of disaster preventing through the cooperation with government agencies, decreasing their doubts on Project USR and raising the willingness of residents in participating in the project.

Primary target community this year would be Xuefu Village. Property right issue in the Toad Mountain Settlement within the village was complicated; thus we made assessment and preparation of all aspects more cautiously. Pandemic situation of COVIC-19 was slightly relieved in August towards the end of summer; we conducted dialogue with the Village Office of Xuefu Village and the local communities of Huanmin New Village, hoping to gain a better understanding of the Toad Mountain Settlement current situation. Through sharing the achievements in Shuiyuan Village and Fushui Village of the recent two years, we finally reached consensus with Xuefu Village chief. Next we would assist Xuefu Village to conduct a series of disaster prevention planning. Chief expressed that “Range of Xuefu Village is mostly mountain area and consists mainly with old settlements; residents have been quite familiar with the disaster prevention practice. We still hope that latest element similar to disaster prevention smart APP could be introduced into our old settlements, giving new life force to the community.”

Elevating disaster prevention conscious of the residents and the disaster prevention contingency ability of the community could not be achieved overnight; one step at a time gives profound meaning to each achievement.

NTUST invited Daan District Executive Officer to join in the visit to Xuefu Village chief, reaching consensus with the village chief in promoting the community disaster prevention work.

Utilizing smart technology to assist disaster prevention

●3D model technology to build the area terrain and building volume

Besides using historical data to find out the weak spots of the community, to assist the community for a more comprehensive disaster planning, we presented the 3D current landscape with computer software modeling. The entire 3D model included rich relief and constructions with different heights and was more spectacular from the refined detail presentation. Once the disaster prevention data was introduced, it became a small stage for disaster prevention scenario planning.

●Side slope remediation smart monitoring

With the unique hillside terrain feature of Gongguan settlement, NTUST utilized side slope stabilization smart monitoring diagnosis technology in addition to the existing traditional slope monitoring to guide students in the actual operation. In the beginning of August, we used Fo Guang University as the site for practice to cultivate students’ ability in site survey. Then we surveyed Treasure Hill, Toad Mountain to familiarize with the local environment and search for appropriate monitor sites for installing the smart monitoring equipments. Students modified disaster prevention policies and smart technology structure through physical or online conference to finalize related policies and connect with smart robots to continue with disaster prevention data collection in obtaining real-time information. The monitoring spots could also provide resident with living quality data monitoring, becoming the resilient city smart disaster prevention network display spots.

●Disaster prevention robot combines mobile application technology with design thinking, creating community sustainable development tool

The disaster prevention smart dialogue robot developed by students under the guidance of Professor Meng-Han Tsai underwent demand inventory and system design based on community organization task and member testing with interview feedback. The development was finally completed after over one year of optimization. Currently, it has been undergoing tour guiding function development for Gongguan area local culture and features.

Residents of Shuiyuan Village invited for disaster prevention robot interview.

Future work prospect

For the next step, teachers and students of the project will conduct disaster prevention guidance design that combines disaster prevention, tourism and design sense through incorporating community features. In normal time, it serves as the guide for tourist for the visibility of the community. And in disaster, it serves as the evacuation beacon for residents, so that these indicators will not be ignored again.

And not to forget that our partners in Nuwakot of Nepal continue their international cooperation with us through long distance communication. After the side slope remediation for a children shelter last year, this year we will rebuild a farmhouse for a poor family. NTUST team went to Nepal for site survey in summer of 2019. This year we will continue working with the local engineering company by having our local partner complete the site survey, collect measurement and geological data and investigate the local building material for the teachers and students of NTUST to assess the farmhouse structure study and propose the remodeling solution.

Whether in Gongguan of southern Taipei or Nepal far overseas, we set out from talent cultivation, guiding students to spontaneous learning, exploring the local culture and natural environment, and verifying what they have learned through actual disaster prevention planning; it is a win-win situation for the project.

Crude farmhouse in Nepal.	Nepal farmhouse 3D design drawing.