GLOBAL AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES

We seek to understand some of the complex issues that impact our world. Specifically, we examine the effects that large and fast migration flows have in cities' and countries' society, governance, and infrastructure; how informal settlements can be absorptive spaces for marginalized communities; and how news media play a role in our attitudes towards humanitarian crises, among other topics.

Research Areas

Social Resilience and Human Mobility

Explores how cities adapt to shocks while providing support for marginalized communities.

Studies the role of human mobility in providing housing and livelihoods to migrants.
Examines urban infrastructure capacity under environmental, economic, and social stress.

Understanding Forced Displacement

Explores how population displacement challenges receiving communities' social, economic, and institutional capacities.

Studies drivers of displacement such as conflict, climate change, governance failures, and economic instability.
Examines host community adaptation, resource allocation, and policy responses to support displaced populations while managing social tensions.

Media and Public Perception

Studies how media shape public understanding and response to crises.

Examines framing, narratives, and emotional impact in media coverage.
Analyzes the role of information flow in humanitarian aid and policy decisions.

Selected Publications

Mapping cooperation: insights into Colombia's humanitarian response to migration from Venezuela

Authors: Liss Dayana Romero, Jose J Padilla, Katherine Palacio, & Erika Frydenlund

Tags: Social Resilience

This study investigates organizational cooperation in Colombia’s humanitarian response to the arrival of 2.9 million displaced Venezuelans, using interviews and web scraping to map key actors and coordination networks.
Social Network Analysis revealed that coordination largely occurred through established INGOs, diaspora-led volunteer organizations, and ad-hoc mechanisms; while coordination mechanisms enabled resource allocation and diverse responses, sector-specific organizations often operated in silos with limited cross-sector collaboration.

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Adapting and Validating a Survey to Assess Host Communities Support for Migration

Authors: Jhon G Botello, Katherine Palacio, Erika Frydenlund,

Humberto Llinás, & Jose J Padilla

Tags: Human mobility, Public perception

The paper develops and validates the Support for Migration Assessment (SMA) survey, based on Social Exchange Theory, to measure how receiving communities perceive and respond to rapid migration influxes by assessing trust, satisfaction, and infrastructure strain.
Survey data from 333 participants in Barranquilla, Colombia showed strong internal consistency and construct validity across trust in institutions, community satisfaction, infrastructure impact, and support for migration, confirming the SMA's reliability for evaluating host community responses.