In 2008, Hurricane Dolly hit the Texas Gulf Coast causing $1.35 billion in damages. As one of the poorest areas in the United States, the Rio Grande Valley was already an "at risk" population economically and environmentally. Response to this storm, mismanagement of government contracts, and underprepared disaster recovery management systems left many families in the Valley struggling to this day.
The Lower Rio Grande Rapid Recovery Re-Housing Program (RAPIDO) offers solutions to disaster recovery on a number of scales, creating a bottom-up community based approach that is centered on the families it intends to support. The design process examines not only architectural issues, but every level of process, specifically the social, economic, and political contexts that make up a disaster scenario. RAPIDO is evaluating and redesigning the entire process with the people that are impacted most.
