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Abstract The effects of urbanization and climate change are dangerously converging. The most affected populations are the urban poor, settled in informal settlements vulnerable to increasingly frequent disasters. This severely contributes to the existing housing gap of these regions, already struggling with housing demand. The speed of shelter delivery becomes key for an efficient response in order to prevent spontaneous informal resettlements on unsafe lands. The present study aims to understand the impact of material choice on post-disaster shelters delivery through a multiscale analysis of construction speed. The scales considered are: Constructive technology, Shelter Unit and Post-disaster settlement. At the the Constructive technology scale, nine different reconstruction solutions for the Nepal earthquake are compared, covering a range from local to industrialized. Successively, twelve shelter designs by the International Federation of the Red Cross have been studied under the same lens at the Shelter unit scale and for Post-disaster settlements. The study identifies a clear correlation between material procurement and speed at the constructive technology scale. At the shelter scale, this correlation becomes secondary and construction time is seriously impacted by the complexity of roof design. Moving to the settlement scale, the choice of local over industrialized materials seems to drive the speed again. The study indicates how a multiscale approach is necessary to analyze the impacts of material selection, providing efficient guidelines for post-disaster reconstruction. Beyond that, it highlights that effective reconstruction can be developed with diverse materials, but its emergency responsiveness can seriously be compromised by a non-appropriate design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an assessment of residential satisfaction of post-disaster resettlement areas that were built in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. We analyze four components of residential satisfaction: environmental, infrastructure and management, social and neighborhood and economic-livelihood services. Results from the study indicate that the residents are moderately satisfied with the post-disaster housing provided after typhoon Yolanda. A multiple linear regression was employed in the study to determine the factors that are correlated with housing satisfaction. Results from the regression show that use of houses for cultural activities, presence of health infrastructure and membership in associations were the common predictor variables to determine residential satisfaction. Meanwhile, the presence of infrastructural defects such as wall cracks and distance from the city center are negatively associated with housing satisfaction. The data from this study provides specific factors that can influence residential satisfaction which can provide targeted interventions for future resettlement projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Nepal earthquakes devastated the Kathmandu Valley and exposed the challenges of conserving andrestoring architectural heritage in historic urban neighborhoods damaged by disasters, while also trying to rapidly rebuild houses, revitalize livelihoods, and reduce vulnerabilities to future hazards. In this paper we use quantitative and qualitative data to investigate how traditional housing was transformed during the post-earthquake reconstruction of four historic neighborhoods in the Kathmandu Valley. We assess how traditional housing stock in these neighborhoods was transformed by a combination of the direct impact of the earthquake; the enforcement of seismic-resistant modern building technology; the costs and logistics of rebuilding; and the priorities of local residents. Our findings indicate that the enforcement of seismic safety building codes and the expense of incorporating traditional architectural elements led to notable changes to the tangible cultural heritage of Kathmandu's historic urban neighborhoods, but likely also improved seismic safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increased intensity of disasters, in the last decade, Sri Lanka has given special attention to Post-Disaster Reconstruction (PDR) policies. With the intention of achieving increased outcomes in production, the government of Sri Lanka revised these policy frameworks periodically, taking into account different social, economic, and cultural aspects, as well as other implementation issues. However, investigations on the transformation of these PDR policies within the last 15 years and their impact on the PDR project success is yet to be exposed by providing insights to future policymakers. The present study aimed to address this gap by conducting a longitudinal case study in exploring PDR policy progress in Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2021. The findings disclosed that the policy changes related to ownership, beneficiary selection and reconstruction have many positive consequences while resettlement and disaster-resilient policies need to be more developed in terms of community considerations. Therefore, it can be expressed that the policy evolution in Sri Lanka is more towards a positive direction while some features still need to be improved in future for more successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-Disaster reconstruction projects often face many challenges, due to inadequacies of community participation. While active community participation directly influences project outcome, factors that restrict or facilitate their involvement are yet to be addressed. Using emic-etic perspectives from two case studies, this paper identifies the factors that act as barriers to community participation. The findings disclosed that it is not only non-community stakeholders who instil barriers to limit community participation – termed as external barriers – but the communities themselves also play a role in restricting their own involvement – termed as internal barriers. The study identified 21 participation barriers and classified them into four external barriers categories – behavioural, regulatory, communication, and integrity – and two internal barriers categories – socio-cultural, and capacity. The articulation of these barriers will help decision-makers address community participation issues and will enable them to achieve reconstruction objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-governmental organization-led post-disaster reconstruction programs have been providing ample financial and human resources for disaster reconstruction. However, despite lengthy discussions about NGO-led post-disaster reconstruction programs, there is a lack of research on the different decision-making practices of various NGOs in the indigenous context. This study is based on extensive field research conducted in two communities affected by the 2009 Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan, where the distinct roles of three large-scale NGOs are investigated. Additionally, NGO–government and NGO–community relationships during the implementation of post-disaster reconstruction programs are closely examined. The result show that for the NGO–government relationship, NGOs fill the gaps left by the government. However, NGOs with great experiences in post-disaster reconstruction might dominate the decision-making process. Regarding the NGO–community relationship, flexible solutions proposed by NGOs might help to solve the challenges of post-disaster reconstruction programs implemented in the communities. However, the implementing methods varied tremendously based on the NGOs' underpinning ideology and mutual trust with the communities. Similarly, the research also states that though communities generally trusted the NGOs' ability to conduct the post-disaster reconstruction programs, the NGOs' ideology on post-disaster reconstruction programs and relationship with communities were crucial to the communities. Eventually, a framework for NGO-led indigenous-based post-disaster reconstruction programs, introducing four stages, is proposed. These stages include: (i) preparedness, (ii) initiation, (iii) planning and construction, and (iv) monitoring and livelihood restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to understand the health and safety scenario for reconstruction workers and to differentiate between post disaster reconstruction (PDR) operations and conventional construction operations as it relates to the workers' health and safety. The context of the study is Bhaktapur, Nepal, which was impacted by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. The study is based on in-depth interviews with stakeholders (n = 38) and triangulated with a review of secondary sources, including laws and regulations and newspapers. The findings suggest that the health and safety scenario of PDR operations differ from conventional construction operations in five broad ways: (1) debris management, (2) workforce management, (3) work environment, (4) perceived urgency to complete reconstruction, and (5) safety risk perception. The findings of this study show how construction workers in PDR operations face unique challenges and higher exposure to construction hazards at work compared to conventional construction. The study presents practical recommendations for governments in the Global South related to debris removal, training for construction stakeholders, technical assistance, enforcement of labor laws, and awareness campaigns for affected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Households' participation has been unanimously advocated by various frameworks and guidelines but has also been rarely post-evaluated to prove its importance in the post-disaster reconstruction programs. This study examined the depth of households' participation and its influence to the level of residential satisfaction in Pope Francis Village – a post-Haiyan resettlement in Tacloban City, Philippines. Data were derived through surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion. Using Pearson's correlation, households' depth of participation and the level of residential satisfaction were found to have a significant, strong, and positive linear relationship, r (160) = 0.36, p =.000. Through multiple linear regression, it was identified that participation during the construction phase influenced the level of residential satisfaction with housing condition (R2 = 0.113) and social environment (R2 = 0.133), whereas participation during the design phase influenced satisfaction with institutional services (R2 = 0.073). This study, however, suggests reframing the notion of participation to "compromise and collaboration" rather than majorly as beneficiary control or mere collaborative pursuit due to the realities of participation encountered. This offers a more pragmatic lens in appraising how participation is important in practice and in theory as it encompasses both its inherent limitations and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettlement is identified as a fundamental stage in Post- Disaster Reconstruction (PDR) projects, which has proved to be crucial in determining successful or unsuccessful performance in terms of community culture. Currently, Sri Lankan PDR projects are in more severe condition due to various challenges faced by the government while providing the resettlements. Good coordination between organizations involved in resettlement and the affected communities is still hard to achieve. This problem has led to socially and culturally inappropriate resettlement outcomes, which are criticized by the affected communities. Therefore, this study intends to address the community cultural issues that were emerged in the post disaster resettlement projects in Sri Lanka. Since the community culture in Sri Lanka is different from other countries, this study should be carried out by following a proper research methodology that has the capability of addressing the research problem in detail. The investigation has been carried out by examination of the cultural issues of post-disaster resettlement projects, which have severely affected for the unsuccessful outcomes of PDR projects. Tsunami and landslide resettlement projects have been selected as the two case materials. The community cultural issues in each case have been discussed with the experiences expressed by the disaster affected community and the professionals involved in the resettlement projects. The findings disclosed in detail that majority of disaster affected communities were not satisfied with resettlements due to various cultural issues related to cultural factors like ethnicity, religion, social environment, natural environment, livelihood and lifestyle. Therefore, proper consideration of those cultural factors by resolving the identified cultural issues may direct the resettlement of Sri Lankan PDR projects to achieve successful outcomes in community cultural perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the true economic costs of floods is central to addressing their impacts, allocating adequate resources for monitoring and preparedness, assessing their changes over time, and building resilient communities. Considerable variability exists in the choice and implementation of methods used in Canada, Mexico, and the United States at national and sub-national levels for estimating the direct damages and indirect losses caused by floods. This inter- and intra-national variability leads to information gaps when prioritizing development investments, for example, for infrastructure renewal, institutional development, or community enhancements. This paper provides an overview of the range of approaches used in the three countries and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses. It then presents a proposed comprehensive and inclusive methodology that has been developed in close collaboration with a range of stakeholders and domain experts. This methodology builds on existing approaches and offers a comprehensive accounting of costs related to flooding. We offer insights into potential challenges for implementing this methodology across the three countries, particularly related to data availability, access, quality, and spatial coverage. We recommend enhanced gathering data and metadata, and storing it in an information warehouse for their timely dissemination. We also identify the need for further investigation into the definition for "extreme flooding" that incorporates hydrological, societal and economic thresholds, in collaboration between government agencies and the research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a field study on the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of livelihood interventions following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia. We assess the extent to which post-tsunami aid in Aceh helped beneficiaries to stabilize and restore their pre-disaster livelihoods, and/or develop new livelihoods. We draw upon qualitative data captured in 183 in-depth interviews and 38 focus group discussions involving village leaders, livelihood aid participants, and NGO workers. Our results show that livelihood assistance helped people stabilize their household finances and partially restore their pre-disaster livelihoods. Furthermore, we found that aid programs were able to help some people without pre-disaster livelihood experience to participate in part-time, ad hoc work. However, aid packages were generally not able to support the development of full-time, sustainable new livelihoods for people lacking pre-disaster training and experience. Our data suggests that it is difficult to conduct efficient and sustainable livelihood development initiatives within the time pressures and current institutional approaches to large-scale post-disaster reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the extent of links between the processes of post-disaster reconstruction and post-conflict reconstruction in three places – Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia – which have all experienced both processes within a relatively short period of time. Drawing on extensive interviews with policy makers and practitioners it explores the dilemmas of attempting to link post-disaster and post-conflict reconstruction activities (PDR and PCR), and the key factors in decision making by those stakeholders who support this approach, and those who oppose it. The paper finds that whilst there is an appetite among many practitioners and stakeholders to link the two processes, there is also a concern that this will be difficult to achieve in a context that is already highly challenging. It demonstrates that in practice the two processes have largely been understood and practiced as separate, though there are some important instances of overlap between the two. Where this overlap has occurred, it has produced very different effects in the different cases. Finally, the paper identifies a number of factors that appear to either prevent or enable links being made between post-conflict and post-disaster programming. These factors include politics and coordination, the nature of the conflict settlement, the difficulty of maintaining institutional memory, and the importance of sustaining the pace of the processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]