A planning guide for temporary disaster shelters focusing on habitability

Abstract

This study aims to develop the temporary shelter planning guide on the basis of taking their habitability for disaster victims into account in South Korea. Based on the results of the critical review, this research proposed an analytic framework emphasizing habitability which is closely related to the quality of temporary shelter environment in terms of safety, healthy living and cultural issues. The planning guide is composed of four dimensions: safety, health, sociality and comfort. Compared to the existing studies on temporary shelter, habitability is more heavily emphasized, including detailed interviews with disaster victims, volunteers and government officials to gain the broadest possible perspective on issues involved. Based on a three-step study, 46 planning guides for temporary shelters were developed to suit the specific needs of disaster stakeholders. The results suggest that ensuring habitability is essential for victims' living in the confusing situation. However, planning guides would differently apply to each disaster situation depending on the unpredictable conditions in the field of disaster. This paper should provide for significant emphasis on the practical use of the guidelines and the priority of their application.