Structural and Spatial Minimal Requirement Efficacy of Emergency Shelters for Different Emergencies

Abstract

Natural and human-induced disasters have become more frequent in recent years, and this has increased the need for effective, high-quality, quick, easy-to-assemble, and affordable emergency housing solutions. The purpose of this study is to create a knowledge base for researchers and developers working in the structural and structural-related fields to favour the development of relevant and most appropriate assistance for emergency housing that could meet the anticipated future rising demands. The focus of the research is emergency shelters for the Global South, an area of research sparsely addressed within the structural-related field. The emergency sheltering process has so many variabilities in its duration and unfolding that many agencies suggest relying on the resilience of those in need. This can have dramatic human repercussions and eventually further burden natural resources. To reach its goal, the paper shifts the attention to information from field actors and global agencies and employs a multiple case studies approach, conducted through a grounded theory methodology. The process has allowed identification of a list of structural-related issues faced by users, acting as codes in the grounded theory methodology, the associated challenges for authorities in addressing them, acting as categories, and some ideal solutions, derived from the theoretical coding. The research concludes that the challenges of the sheltering process shall be read through sustainability housing indicators and that the constraints of the former may be stimuli to the application of innovative and more inclusive procedures within the latter. The study fosters a new theoretical approach in post-disaster housing, which encourages more interdisciplinary collaborations and empirical investigations that will potentially enhance post-disaster housing sustainability and facilitate the development of emergency shelter construction schemes.