Housing Reconstruction Programme Research Articles

Who Gets Emergency Housing Relief? An Analysis of FEMA Individual Assistance Data After Hurricane María

In the months after Hurricane María’s devastation of Puerto Rico, press outlets and advocacy groups documented how Puerto Rico’s experience with housing repair and reconstruction programs was rife with complaints and inconsistencies regarding approval of applications and denial of support, especially among vulnerable communities. These problems are not unique to Puerto Rico and have been frequently raised by numerous communities in the United States that have endured disasters. This article contributes to the critical task of revealing postdisaster damages and reconstruction trends through a detailed examination of housing and personal property damages and benefits received through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Individual Assistance (IA) Program after Hurricane María. It also shows which municipalities were most affected and have the greatest housing needs. We demonstrate that, in the aggregate, poor or geographically vulnerable households were not likely to be underserved. Nonetheless, poor households are left with a greater burden in the form of pending housing needs after aid relief has been allocated, rendering them more vulnerable to being displaced. Furthermore, households that lacked clear tenure status were unable to access IA aid because of administrative and procedural burdens.

Impacts of collective housing relocation in the Ogatsu area of Ishinomaki City after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Eight years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which devastated communities along Japan’s northeast Tohoku coast on March 11, 2011. Housing reconstruction programs in tsunami-affected municipalities included the provision of new residential lots in highland areas and the construction of public housing. The implementation of government-driven recovery projects is almost complete in the municipalities that were destroyed by the tsunami. However, even with these projects, some areas have suffered extreme population loss. Looking at the example of Ogatsu Peninsula and the case of Tachihama village, this paper considers the factors that contributed to residents’ deciding to move away or return and rebuild. According to the majority of the residents who moved away, the prospect of living in temporary housing for the length of time needed for permanent housing to be ready was their main reason for deciding to move somewhere else. Although housing recovery programs are intended to support the rebuilding of communities, the implementation and timeline of the government’s reconstruction programs may actually contribute to or accelerate population decline. As the implementation of reconstruction programs alone after a disaster occurs is not enough to guarantee the housing recovery of all residents, it may be important to consider pre-disaster community-building for the long-term sustainability of disaster-affected communities.

Community satisfaction levels on the housing reconstruction project after Mentawai tsunami in 2010 - a case study at Sipora Island

An earthquake accompanied by tsunami that occurred in the Mentawai Islands on 25 October 2010 brought many casualties and damage on housing. As a result, people living on the coastline lost their homes and has to be relocated to safer places. The implementation of the housing reconstruction program was based on the relocation approach. Unsafe coastal locations require the communities to move to higher ground which unfortunately at the forest areas of Mentawai. The success of the reconstruction of the housing sector can be an indicator of success in the implementation of post-disaster reconstruction. The purpose of this research is to identify the community satisfaction levels on the housing reconstruction projects in Sipora island. This research was conducted in South Sipora by conducting structured interview on 20 respondents spread across four villages. Respondents were invited to rate the satisfaction levels from very dissatisfied until very satisfied with points values 1-5. The results show that the level of community satisfaction was 2.91. The main problem was caused by a long delay in the start of the reconstruction program. In addition, there are still problems after the house is completed, such as the lack of availability of clean water and public facilities.

Critical Chinese government behavior for swift housing reconstruction programme - The case of Dujiangyan following Wenchuan Earthquake

After the massive Wenchuan earthquake, 15.1 million victims were forced to temporarily relocate and the post-disaster reconstruction was urgent and necessary. Subsequently, the Chinese government vigorously promoted a swift reconstruction, which drew worldwide attention from academia and politics. In response, this paper specifically focused on the critical Chinese government behaviors regarding its swift implementation of a housing reconstruction programme. The Dujiangyan case was employed. A field investigation was conducted, and the data from the source in this research, the newspaper “Dujiangyan Express” were collected. Content analysis was adopted to extract news related to housing reconstruction and “R” software was used for the keyword frequency statistics. Accordingly, the frequencies were obtained, and keywords with similar meanings were classified into one keyword cluster. Further, the keyword clusters’ frequencies were analyzed, and the corresponding time points considered. Finally, 14 critical Chinese government behaviors in 4 dimensions were identified: “post-disaster resettlement”, “housing reconstruction”, “disposal for the earthquake-impacted housing”, and “government field investigation”. The main findings supply a theoretical summary for the Chinese government behaviors in its swift implementation of a housing reconstruction programme and could be useful references for further behaviors that promote successful post-disaster reconstruction.

A Study on Core House as Housing Reconstruction Program after the Central Java-Yogyakarta Earthquake 2006 in Kasongan Village Indonesia

This paper is a result of study on core house as one type of post disaster housing reconstruction program in Indonesia. The aim is to explore the role of core house in restoring the beneficiary’s condition after the earthquake disaster. Core house is a starter house provided with basic rooms that could be occupied directly and then developed incrementally by the occupants. This kind of house has a long history in housing development in Indonesia, which then implemented it as one type of post disaster housing reconstruction program. The case study is core house built in Kasongan Village after the Central Java-Yogyakarta Earthquake in 2006. Qualitative method was carried out according to the aim of the study. Long-term view is needed to conduct housing reconstruction program after disaster. Therefore, giving attention toward physical aspect needs to be balanced with nonphysical aspect.

Practice Framework for the Management of Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction Programmes

Despite an international consensus for housing to be “built back better” (BBB) following disasters, and the considerable resources expended on reconstruction efforts globally, the management of post-disaster housing reconstruction programmes often leaves much to be desired. This research presents a framework for the management of post-disaster housing reconstruction in developing countries based on a comprehensive identification of the issues affecting the management of reconstruction programmes and the management measures which have proved effective in mitigating these issues and achieving the desired BBB outcomes. The framework highlights the strategic importance of preparedness measures that should be taken before the next disaster strikes and the cross-cutting nature of capacity building and beneficiary community engagement measures that are essential to all stages of the post-disaster reconstruction process. The research findings are limited to developing countries, as the evidence on which they are based is almost entirely from post-disaster housing experiences in the developing world. The framework may, however, be adapted to different, specific post-disaster reconstruction contexts. This research has compiled, extended and up-dated current knowledge regarding the management of housing reconstruction programmes and it provides practical guidance for policy makers and practitioners.

Research methodology for the development of a framework for managing post-disaster housing reconstruction

Following the increasing occurrence of large-scale disasters, several permanent housing reconstruction programmes have been initiated particularly in developing countries. However, stakeholders within the international development and humanitarian sector have identified permanent housing intervention as ineffective and one of the least successful sectoral intervention particularly in terms of implementation. As a result, stakeholders have increasingly demand for evidence-based studies that will provide insights and guidance to policy makers and practitioners on the measures that could be applied in achieving effective implementation of permanent housing reconstruction programmes. The paper presents the methodical framework including the epistemological foundation and selection of research methodology for which a PhD research that focus on developing a framework for effective management of permanent housing reconstruction programmes was conducted. The article seeks to enhance research methodology knowledge base especially within the disaster resilience - (re)construction management - field that would yield research output to enhance policy-making and practice on the management of housing reconstruction programmes.

Integrated measures for managing permanent housing reconstruction

Abstract Following major disasters, stakeholders appropriate substantial resources for permanent housing reconstruction to mitigate disaster risk and to facilitate sustainable community resilience to disasters. Many stakeholders have, however, identified permanent housing reconstruction as one of the least successful humanitarian interventions as many housing interventions fail to achieve their intended outcomes. As a result, there have been calls for evidence-based studies to provide guidance for policy-makers and practitioners towards effective management of permanent housing programmes. This paper seeks to identify the issues that influence the effective management of permanent housing interventions and the measures that could be applied to manage those issues. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with experts in post-disaster reconstruction and analyzed with the aid of NVivo 11 software. The findings served to validate and extend the issues influencing effective implementation of permanent housing interventions which had been identified in earlier research. These issues have been thematically classified into human resource issues; workmanship and quality issues; monitoring and control issues; coordination and communication issues; logistics and supplies issues; financial management issues; and health and safety issues. The study further identifies and presents the integrated measures that can be applied by policy-makers and practitioners to manage these issues and thus promote effective permanent housing reconstruction programmes.

Users’ long-term satisfaction with post-disaster permanent housing: a case study of 2010 Merapi Eruption, Indonesia

An objective evaluation of users’ long-term satisfaction with the post-disaster permanent housing provided is important for judging the successes or failures of housing reconstruction programs. Focussing on four resettlement sites built via the REKOMPAK program after the 2010 Merapi eruption, this paper examines the users’ long-term satisfaction with the provided housing, and explores how their satisfaction level relates to their demographic characteristics and level of participation in the reconstruction processes. The results show that the households are in overall satisfied with the present housing. Their overall satisfaction level is statistically positively associated with household income, but not their level of participation and other demographic characteristics. These findings provide evidence on a satisfactory outcome in the long-term for the REKOMPAK, a community-based reconstruction program that was implemented in Indonesia since 2004, and a useful insight for local authorities, humanitarian and other agencies involved in post-disaster reconstruction program.

Conflicts between recovery objectives: The case of housing reconstruction after the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran

Disaster management studies have demonstrated that housing reconstruction programs often contain conflicting objectives. Yet, insufficient knowledge still exists about how conflicts between objectives appear and escalate during the reconstruction process. The purpose of this article is to explain the causes and consequences of these conflicts and to reveal how recovery programs can prevent them. After developing the analytical framework of underlying and intensifying factors of conflicting objectives, this qualitative inquiry examines the housing reconstruction program conducted after the 2003 earthquake in Bam. Empirical results show three sets of conflicts between economic, social, cultural, and built environment objectives, and reveal how they led to repeating simple modular housing units, which partially destroyed a rich and historic architectural landscape, ignoring households’ needs, identities, culture, and traditions and damaging irreversibly Bam's unique urban fabric. Results reveal unsolved controversies in the post-disaster reconstruction field and the lack of participatory decision-making before disasters as the underlying factors of such conflicting objectives. On the other hand, conflicts between stakeholders as well as challenges in participation processes during the reconstruction process intensified conflicts between recovery objectives. Findings recommend preventing the rapid establishment of new organizations in the post-disaster stage and finding a balance between professionals’ and lay community's knowledge to fulfill short and long-term recovery objectives.

Analysis of Measures for Managing Issues in Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction

After large scale disasters, reconstruction is often initiated by stakeholders to minimize disaster impacts and to mitigate a recurrence. For most reconstruction programmes, priority is given to reconstruction of permanent housing in consideration of the multiplying effects of housing reconstruction on social and economic recovery and the development of community resilience. However, numerous challenges arise during implementation which have reportedly been poorly managed and this has resulted in the ineffectiveness of housing reconstruction programmes and the failure of housing interventions to achieve their intended goals. In previous, related research, the issues affecting the implementation of housing reconstruction programmes were identified and a conceptual framework proposed. This study systematically reviews the academic literature, case studies and working papers in order to identify measures that have been applied by managers of reconstruction programmes to overcome these previously identified issues. The measures identified will be used to develop the previously proposed conceptual framework and thus to enable data collection through an experts’ opinion survey. Findings from the experts’ opinion survey will, in turn, be used to deduce best practice measures for managing permanent housing reconstruction programmes. This study is intended to aid policy making by providing stakeholders with good practice measures for managing issues in post-disaster housing reconstruction. In addition, it improves the knowledge base by presenting current housing reconstruction management practices and recommending how they can be improved for better community recovery and resilience building after large-scale disasters.

AN ANALYSIS OF ISSUES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF POST-DISASTER HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION

There is an urgent need to improve the management of housing reconstruction programmes. Post-disaster housing reconstruction represents a significant portion of global property investment but its management has often proved to be ineffective. Although the post-disaster context makes management more challenging, it also offers exceptional opportunities to invest in and develop a more resilient built environment. On the basis of a systematic review of the existing literature, characteristics of the housing reconstruction context and successes, failures and management issues arising from historical housing reconstruction programmes were identified. These were synthesized into a conceptual framework that relates the contextual characteristics with management strategies and with the desired outcomes for housing reconstruction initiatives. This framework will enable field data collection in order to better understand the interrelationships between context, management strategies and outcomes. Ultimately, it is intended to provide practitioners with decision support tools for selecting appropriate housing reconstruction management strategies.

Communities’ Satisfaction towards Housing Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program after September 30, 2009, Earthquake in West Sumatra

The government of Indonesia had provided the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (RR) assistance to 194,636 houses for communities after September 30, 2009, earthquake in West Sumatra. The community-based development model was adopted in this housing program aid. This study aims to explore people’s satisfaction towards the RR program and to identify the difference of satisfaction level between urban area and rural area. The research was carried out by conducting a questionnaire survey to 200 communities. The beneficiaries were invited to determine their satisfaction level based on 5 Likert scale from 1 as “not satisfied at all” to 5 as “absolutely satisfied.” The satisfaction level was assessed by two factors, process of reconstruction and result of reconstruction. It was found that the level of communities’ satisfaction is at average level. The satisfaction level of urban communities is 2.75, while the satisfaction level of rural communities is slightly higher at 2.88. The satisfaction levels of urban and rural communities with the reconstruction process are at 2.63 and 2.75, respectively, while the satisfaction level with the results of the program is at 2.84 and at 2.95, respectively. Communities’ satisfaction with the result of reconstruction is higher than that with the process of reconstruction.

Challenges in Build-Back-Better Housing Reconstruction Programs for Coastal Disaster Management: Case of Tacloban City, Philippines

Following typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, the government of the Philippines organized massive housing reconstruction programs that are currently facing complex implementation issues. The present study investigated the mechanisms of three types of housing reconstruction programs (i.e. owner-driven on-site reconstruction, community-driven off-site relocation and contractor-driven off-site relocation) and discussed sustainability challenges by assessing the gaps between community needs and program performance, measured through the level of beneficiary satisfaction. The study conducted semi-structured questionnaire surveys with beneficiary households and key informant interviews with government officials and nongovernment organization representatives in March 2015. Results showed that on-site reconstruction was delayed due to insufficient and poorly implemented assistance schemes relating to reconstruction (e.g. materials, skills training), while off-site relocation was delayed by prolonged land acquisition and subcontracting issues. Disruption of critical infrastructure, such as water utility services, and lack of livelihood opportunities significantly affected the satisfaction levels of respondents with the recovery progress. The study also found that the no-dwelling-zone policy was not strictly enforced as houses were still being rebuilt in high-risk areas near the coast. Finally permanently relocated residents continue to struggle, especially with regard to their source of livelihood, as relocation sites are inaccessible and located away from employment opportunities.

A Framework for Managing Post-disaster Housing Reconstruction

Abstract The built environment is becoming progressively more complex and dynamic. These changes impose growing challenges on construction professionals in terms of disaster risk reduction. Construction innovations also have the potential to positively contribute to promoting disaster resilience and mitigating climate change. This initial investigation of the case studies from the literature focuses on the development of a general framework for the effective organisation and management of post-disaster housing reconstruction. The framework developed enables data collection for further investigative studies in order to improve management practices in future housing reconstruction programmes.

Permanent Housing in Community Socio-Ecological Recovery: The Case of T. Vilufushi, Maldives

Housing is perhaps the most common component of a community’s manufactured capital wealth stocks damaged or destroyed by natural disasters. Consequently the restoration of housing in the recovery process takes on a paramount significance. This significance is magnified by the complexity of housing restoration and the varying and specialised skill sets required to deliver it. Such complexity is exemplified through both the different phases of post-disaster housing required following a disaster and the role of housing in the broader socio-ecological system of a community. Housing is inextricably linked to livelihoods, physical and mental health, security and social capital. Successful post-disaster restoration of housing must identify and embrace such linkages. This paper explores this notion through examination of the impact of the permanent housing reconstruction of the T. Vilufushi community, Maldives, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which completely destroyed the island of Vilufushi. The community were temporarily relocated for 4½ years whilst Vilufushi was totally reconstructed by the Government of Maldives and the British Red Cross. Such reconstruction was undertaken to cater for not only the original population of 1800, but also a projected population of 5000, as the Government of Maldives utilised the opportunity afforded by the Tsunami to pursue its longstanding population consolidation policy. The post-occupancy impact of the permanent housing reconstruction program upon the wider socio-ecological system of the Vilufushi community is explored via a qualitative research methodology utilising the four wealth capitals of sustainable development as its analytical framework. Field data collection methods comprised focus group discussions, key informant interviews and observations. This was supplemented with ongoing document collection and review. Data was analysed using a pattern match technique / content analysis, preceding a holistic recovery network analysis. Results of the research indicate that the delivery of the permanent housing on Vilufushi has undermined the human, natural and social capital wealth stocks of the community. The implications are that permanent housing reconstruction needs to be considered as much as a social process, as an engineering process. This in turn, has implications for the skillsets of those charged to deliver such projects, and also the organisations that employ them.

Temporary housing after disasters: A state of the art survey

The number of natural disasters has drastically increased, causing great damages on buildings. Large amount of houses have suffered damages and become unusable, causing a high number of homeless people. Housing reconstruction programmes play a decisive role on the disaster recovery and providing temporary housing is a crucial step of these programmes. During the reconstruction of permanent housing, it allows victims to have a private and secure place to return to their normal life. It has been widely used after the largest scale disasters but it has also been greatly criticized, mainly for being unsustainable and culturally inadequate. The study aims to present a state-of-the-art survey on the topic, as well as to identify the main problems, their origin and the existing proposals to avoid them. The research also proposes some guidelines that can reduce the effects of those problems.

Towards a policy that supports people-centered housing recovery—learning from housing reconstruction after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in Kobe, Japan

The goal of disaster recovery is for survivors to regain stability in their lives, livelihoods, and housing. A people-centered housing recovery requires that residents are empowered to make decisions about their housing reconstruction, and that policies create housing options that support the ability of all residents to reconstruct their homes and lives. The 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake caused the largest amount of damage in Japan since World War II, and the subsequent recovery is a starting point for understanding contemporary post-disaster housing reconstruction policies in Japan. Beyond an overview of housing reconstruction programs, we can understand the impact these policies had on Kobe residents’ housing and community recovery. In many cases, housing policies implemented after the Kobe earthquake fragmented communities and caused further damage and disruption in the lives of the survivors. A single-track approach failed to support the entire population of the disaster-stricken area. In subsequent years, Japanese disaster reconstruction laws and policies have seen modifications and improvements. Some of these changes can be seen in cases of recovery after more recent disasters, notably after the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake in Niigata Prefecture. In the context of these past examples, we can consider what is needed for a people-centered recovery in the Tohoku area after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Self-Initiatives and Transformations: Post-Tsunami Housing in Aceh, Indonesia

The aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami witnessed extensive housing reconstruction programs by humanitarian agencies in the affected countries. In the most impacted country, Indonesia, in Aceh province more than 140,000 houses were built by more than 120 agencies. Within a few years it became evident that residents found it necessary to extend, remodel and renovate and thus transform the houses to suit their own and broader social needs; a self-initiated construction process proliferated beyond the investments by agencies. Key questions arise in such a context: Why must the beneficiaries transform their houses? What needs are not met through the standardised houses? Can particular types improve the capacity for residents to transform their house? Perhaps most significantly, what lessons does such transformation offer that can inform future policy and practice in the field of post-disaster housing reconstruction? This paper addresses such questions and is derived from an in-depth study of the self-initiated transformation process of post-tsunami housing in Aceh, supported by Raphael Vinoly Architects, New York. It outlines the background and context of the process and provides examples of housing that have been and are undergoing transformation, by way of illustrating the nature of and reasons for such initiatives. Drawing on the lessons gained from the examples, the paper underscores key implications for future housing reconstruction programs in a context of climate change and increasing frequency and intensity of disaster events.

A community-based approach to supply chain design

The role of beneficiaries in the humanitarian supply chain is highlighted in the imperative to meet their needs but disputed in terms of their actual decision-making and purchasing power. This paper discusses the use of a beneficiary-focused, community-based approach in the case of a post-crisis housing reconstruction programme. In the community-based approach, beneficiaries become active members of the humanitarian supply chain. Implications of this community-based approach are discussed in the light of supply chain design and aid effectiveness.