The mutual relationship between established process of reconstruction governance and implemented process of reconstruction project: A focus on L’Aquila city 10 years after the Abruzzo earthquake

Abstract

In the recovery process following massive earthquakes in historical Italian cities, the housing construction and restoration of built heritage proceed with relationships that are established among diverse actors. However, much less work has been done on the established processes of governance protocol and research methods have not been accumulated. This study is aimed at determining the characteristics of the established processes of reconstruction governance (RG) in L'Aquila city following the 2009 Abruzzo earthquake in Italy. The research method was adopted from the text analysis and inter-actor relationship mapping which was obtained in the previous study. Moreover, the mutual relationships between established RG processes and the implemented processes of the reconstruction project (RP) were identified based on the periodization of L’Aquila’s recovery process by combining two initiatives. The results thus obtained revealed that the existence of mutual relationships between the two processes resulted in a diversification of RG and an expansion of the RP domains and types in addition to a centralization of the RP domains. In conclusion, we recommend the diversification and continuous strengthening of RG in the recovery process, early establishment of an intermediary support organization, and public offering projects for expanding civic association participation.