The Evolution of Localized Housing Recovery in Japan

Abstract

Localized disaster recovery housing refers to housing made using local resources (materials, people, and skills). Using local resources to build temporary and permanent housing for people who lost their homes helps revitalize the disaster-affected area by contributing to the local economy and supporting local businesses. In the context of Japan, localized housing recovery can be understood as using some or all of the following: timber materials; traditional/local wood construction methods; and local companies and craftspeople. The term ‘localized housing recovery,’ chiikigata juutaku fukkou in Japanese, was first used in the recovery of the Yamakoshi area of Nagaoka City after the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake, where local timber and carpenters were included from the post-disaster planning through rebuilding phases. While wooden temporary housing was rarely used since the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe, after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake a “localized type” of construction used local natural resources for the construction of wooden temporary housing or recovery housing, including over 6,000 units of wooden temporary housing in Fukushima Prefecture alone. A similar approach was used after the 2011 Flood Disaster in the Kii Peninsula. This paper provides an overview of the evolution process of this localized recovery housing in Japan.