An integrated approach: managing resources for post-disaster reconstruction

A lack of resources for post-disaster housing reconstruction significantly limits the prospects for successful recovery. Following the earthquake in Wenchuan, China, in May 2008, housing reconstruction was not immune to resource shortages and price inflation. Difficulties in sourcing materials and labour considerably impeded recovery. This paper provides evidence of the resourcing bottlenecks inherent in the post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction process. Its aim is to present an integrated planning framework for managing resources for post-disaster housing rebuilding. The results are drawn from in-field surveys that highlight the areas where stakeholders need to concentrate effort, including revising legislation and policy, enhancing capacity for rebuilding in the construction industry, strengthening the transportation network, restructuring market mechanisms, and incorporating environmental considerations into overall planning. Although the case study presented here is country-specific, it is hoped that the findings provide a basis for future research to identify resourcing constraints and solutions in other disaster contexts.     

Towards an earthquake-resilient world: from post-disaster reconstruction to pre-disaster prevention

ABSTRACT

Destructive earthquakes in urban or rural areas around the world have caused severe damage to local societies. Pre-disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction can significantly reduce the impact of earthquakes on communities. To explore the popular research topics and trends in this area, CiteSpace was used to develop a knowledge map visualization. It was found that the main research into earthquake disaster prevention and reconstruction has been focused on disaster risk reduction planning, disaster mitigation knowledge, participatory disaster governance, and community resilience building. In this Special Issue, there were six distinctive earthquake disaster research papers that covered scientific, social, and institutional aspects. It was concluded that to reduce the effects of earthquake disasters, an interdisciplinary research approach and systems thinking is needed. The investigation also revealed that there has been a paradigm shift from post-disaster reconstruction to pre-disaster prevention to build community and urban resilience.     

综合防灾减灾的安全理念在城市规划中的实施路径——以北川新县城灾后重建规划为例

北川,作为汶川特大地震中唯一一个整体异地重建的县城,受到全国人民乃至世界的极大关注,其安全防灾问题必然成为新县城建设的核心问题。通过对北川灾后重建规划的系统总结,揭示出城市规划与城市安全的紧密关联。在城市规划中应将安全置于首位,并将安全防灾理念贯穿于规划全过程;通过选址、布局、防灾疏散场地的合理布局构建安全的城市环境;通过强化建筑防灾、基础设施防灾,加强公共安全设施工程建设,提高城市抗御灾害和应对突发事件的能力;通过建立健全灾害预防和应急信息系统及紧急救援体系等一系列规划、工程手段,达到建设"安全、安定、安心"城市的目标。     

The self‐built ecovillage in L'Aquila,Italy: community resilience as a grassroots response to environmental shock

The paper applies the community resilience approach to the post‐disaster case of Pescomaggiore, an Italian village affected by the L'Aquila earthquake in 2009. A group of residents refused to accept the housing recovery solutions proposed by the government, opting for autonomous recovery. They developed a housing project in the form of a self‐built ecovillage, characterised by earthquake‐proof buildings made of straw and wood. The project is a paradigmatic example of a community‐based response to an external shock. It illustrates the concept of ‘community resilience’, which is widely explored in the scientific debate but still vaguely defined. Based on qualitative methodologies, the paper seeks to understand how the community resilience process can be enacted in alternative social practices such as ecovillages. The goal is to see under which conditions natural disasters can be considered windows of opportunity for sustainability.     

Strategic planning for post-disaster temporary housing

Temporary housing programmes suffer from excessively high cost, late delivery, poor location, improper unit designs and other inherent issues. These issues can be attributed in part to a prevalence of ad hoc tactical planning, rather than pre-disaster strategic planning, for reconstruction undertaken by governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the chaotic post-disaster environment. An analysis of the process and outcomes from six case studies of temporary housing programmes after disasters in Turkey and Colombia in 1999, Japan in 1995, Greece in 1986, Mexico in 1985, and Italy in 1976 yields information about the extent to which strategic planning is employed in temporary housing programmes, as well as common issues in temporary housing. Based on an understanding of these common issues, this paper proposes a framework for strategic planning for temporary housing that identifies organisational designs and available resources for temporary housing before the disaster, but allows modifications to fit the specific post-disaster situation.     

Recovery after disaster: achieving sustainable development, mitigation and equity

This paper reviews key findings and raises issues that are not fully addressed by the predominant disaster recovery literature. Achievement of equity, mitigation and sustainable development, particularly through local participation in redevelopment planning and institutional cooperation, is the central issue of the review. Previous research and past assumptions about the process by which communities rebuild after a disaster are reviewed. A conceptual model for understanding local disaster recovery efforts is then presented. The conceptual and practical significance of this model is then demonstrated by presenting case studies of local recovery experiences. Finally, conclusions on the current understanding of disaster redevelopment planning, as well as implications for public policy and future research are offered.     

韧性理论视角下贫困村灾后恢复重建与灾害风险管理刍议

韧性理论引入灾害风险管理领域,为世界防灾减灾实践提供了新理念,并在国内外韧性城市社区建设中得到广泛应用,但针对乡村地区,尤其是高脆弱性的贫困村韧性社区建设的研究还较为鲜见。该文以韧性理论为基础,结合乡村振兴战略规划,通过对贫困村社会生态系统特征的分析,探讨了新时期我国贫困村灾后恢复重建与灾害风险管理发展方向及特点。研究发现:贫困村不仅产业经济落后,而且还具有自然环境复杂、基础设建设滞后、社会公益设施匮乏、教育水平较低、自然灾害频发等特点。这类灾害多发区与贫困人口聚集区在空间上的叠加,成为我国社会生态系统高脆弱性地区,面临着严峻的防灾减灾与扶贫开发的双重挑战;基于韧性理论视角,通过构建贫困村适灾韧性系统,开展贫困村社区韧性综合评价,调整贫困村灾后恢复重建规划编制理念等,以推动贫困村灾后恢复重建的转型;在此基础上,结合贫困村社会生态系统特点,以建立健全贫困村灾害风险管理机制、探究提升贫困村适灾韧性社区建设的新途径、协同灾害管理与乡村振兴发展目标、开展灾区恢复重建动态监测与后效评价等政策举措为抓手,深化贫困村灾害风险管理实践,提升贫困地区可持续发展能力。     

自然灾害灾后重建技术及实践的研究进展

灾后重建是在灾害体发生之时及发生之后,采取应急救援、灾害管理,以及灾后评估、救助、规划等一系列过程,是一个典型的系统工程,可划分为前期应急重建、中期恢复重建及后期发展重建3部分。以自然灾害为主要研究对象,在分析中外关于灾后重建文献的基础之上,归纳了灾后重建的系统特征,介绍了灾后重建技术和实践的研究进展。灾后重建技术包括灾害分类分级、应急救援、灾后评估、灾害管理和重建规划5个方面,灾后重建实践研究分为地震、飓风、洪水和海啸4个方面,并对中外的灾后重建研究发展进行了展望。     

Theorizing distributive justice and the practice of post-disaster housing recovery

This paper examines the implications of contemporary conceptions of distributive justice for post-disaster recovery programmes. The question asked in this paper is essentially theoretical: what does a concern with distributive justice entail when developing and evaluating post-disaster recovery programmes? Housing recovery programmes are employed to provide a contextual grounding for the discussion. We present a review of the disaster recovery literature and recent programmes of post-disaster housing recovery to map the ways in which distributive justice have been theorized, interpreted, debated and put into practice. We reflect on what different principles of distributive justice imply for post-disaster recovery programmes in terms of their impact on opportunities for individuals and communities to recover from disasters, and also on their realizing possibilities of advancing justice in the post-disaster society. The paper concludes by outlining a number of dimensions of a pluralist account of distributive justice. Using these dimensions and taking into account tensions within and between them, we attempt to offer a framework for reflecting on and assessing distributive arrangements of disaster recovery programmes.     

基于GIS的城市抗震防灾规划信息管理系统

探讨GIS在城市抗震防灾规划中的应用模式和关键技术,设计了城市抗震防灾规划信息管理系统的基本框架,并结合郑州新区抗震防灾规划工作,介绍了城市抗震防灾规划综合数据库、震害预测分析模型以及GIS辅助决策系统的研究与实现,为规划编制和实施提供重要的数据支撑和决策依据。     

Successes and failures in post-disaster resettlement

In this article I examine the problem of the resettlement of populations after disaster. After considering the complexity of the resettlement process in general and the reasons resettlement is often chosen by authorities following disaster, I discuss a theoretical perspective from development project resettlement which may have relevance for disaster research. This is followed by an examination of those factors in post-disaster resettlement projects which have proved important in affecting successful or unsuccessful outcomes. Site, layout, housing and popular input are presented as crucial issues in the determination of success or failure in post-disaster resettlement. Case material from Turkey, Iran and Peru is presented to illustrate how failure to attend to these issues produces unsuccessful resettlement villages. Case material from Turkey is used to illustrate how attention to these factors improves chances of success in resettlement. Material from cases of voluntary, spontaneous post-disaster resettlement in Guatemala is also presented to underscore the importance of popular participation for successful resettlement despite insufficiencies in design and material inputs. The article ends with a brief consideration of resistance to resettlement and alternative policies.     

Social entrepreneurship,co-production,and post-disaster recovery

Post-disaster recovery requires co-production; that is, the inputs of citizens are essential for successful community recovery to occur. Citizens contribute to post-disaster recovery by volunteering, taking on consultative and decision-making roles within their communities, and directly participating in post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Without meaning ful contributions from citizens—the intended beneficiaries—unilateral efforts by public officials and authorities will inevitably fail. This study shows that social entrepreneurs can thus play a critical role in spurring post-disaster recovery by facilitating co-production. It focuses on the role of social entrepreneurs after disasters and centres on one rural village, Giranchaur Namuna Basti in the Sindhupalchowk District of Nepal. Specifically, the study uses the case of the Dhurmus Suntali Foundation's Namuna village project in Giranchaur following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on 25 April 2015 to examine the pivotal role that social entrepreneurs assume in promoting voluntary activities, community engagement, and participation in post-disaster recovery efforts.     

基于灾后恢复过程解析的城市韧性评价体系

为实现对城市韧性的有效评价,本论文在系统研究国际城市韧性评价体系的基础之上,结合中国城市发展的现状,基于对城市灾后实际恢复过程的系统考察,建立了基于恢复过程的城市韧性评价体系。该评价体系通过解析城市灾后恢复过程的四个阶段:救援阶段(Rescue)、避难阶段(Refuge)、重建阶段(Rebuild)、复兴阶段(Revival),从社区与人口(Community and Population)、政府与管理(Official Organization and Management)、住房与设施(Valuable Housing and Facilities)、经济与发展(Economy and Development)、环境与文化(Renewable Environment and Culture)共五个维度,以62项指标对城市的韧性进行系统分析。这一体系可以简称为城市韧性评价的ReCOVER体系,其中“Re”代表了城市恢复的四个阶段,COVER则分别代表了城市韧性的五个维度。进而以该体系为基础,对我国大陆31个省级行政区域的城市韧性进行了五个维度、四个阶段的实证研究,并对城市韧性的提升策略,给出了分析建议。     

Post-disaster housing reconstruction and social inequality: a challenge to policy and practice

In post-disaster reconstruction the social aspects of housing provision are important for the success of both emergency shelters and permanent housing, particularly in settlements that have been permanently relocated or entirety rebuilt. The social dimensions of housing reconstruction after disaster are discussed in the context of the long-term effects of reconstruction after the Yungay, Peru Earthquake-Avalanche of 1970. Consideration of these issues presents questions regarding the tension between continuity and change in affected populations, the importance of pre-disaster socio-economic patterns for reconstruction and the criteria used for assessing the success of post-disaster reconstruction and development projects. The author contends that post-disaster housing reconstruction must avoid rebuilding structures which reflect, sustain and reproduce patterns of inequality and exploitation.     

Speed or deliberation: a comparison of post‐disaster recovery in Japan,Turkey, and Chile

This paper compares recovery in the wake of three recent earthquakes: the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011; the Van earthquake in Turkey in October 2011; and the Maule earthquake in Chile in February 2010. The authors visited all three locations approximately 12–18 months after the incidents and interviewed earthquake specialists, disaster managers, urban planners, and local authorities. A key challenge to post‐disaster recovery planning is balancing speed and deliberation. While affected communities must rebuild as quickly as possible, they must also seek to maximise the opportunities for improvement that disasters provide. The three case studies bring this dilemma into stark relief, as recovery was respectively slow, fast, and just right in the aftermath of the events: the Government of Japan adopted a deliberate approach to recovery and reconstruction; speed was of the essence in Turkey; and an effective balance between speed and deliberation was achieved in Chile.     

Impediments to recovery in New Orleans' Upper and Lower Ninth Ward: one year after Hurricane Katrina

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a rapid succession of plans put forward a host of recovery options for the Upper and Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. Much of the debate focused on catastrophic damage to residential structures and discussions of the capacity of low-income residents to repair their neighbourhoods. This article examines impediments to the current recovery process of the Upper and Lower Ninth Ward, reporting results of an October 2006 survey of 3,211 plots for structural damage, flood damage and post-storm recovery. By examining recovery one year after Hurricane Katrina, and by doing so in the light of flood and structural damage, it is possible to identify impediments to recovery that may disproportionately affect these neighbourhoods. This paper concludes with a discussion of how pre- and post-disaster inequalities have slowed recovery in the Lower Ninth Ward and of the implications this has for post-disaster recovery planning there and elsewhere.     

Long-term gendered consequences of permanent disabilities caused by the 2005 Pakistan earthquake

This study documents the long-term gendered impact of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake on women and men who were rendered paraplegic as a result of spinal cord injuries sustained during the disaster. Coping mechanisms are also mapped. The findings show that three years after the disaster, paraplegic women are socially, emotionally, and financially isolated. The small stipend they receive is a significant source of income, but it has also led to marital distrust, violence, and abuse. In contrast, men receive full social and emotional support. Their key concern is that the government is not providing them with opportunities to be economically productive. Contemporary discourse and post-disaster policies, while acknowledging the importance of incorporating a gender perspective in the immediate post-disaster period, have failed to acknowledge and address the longer-term gendered impact of disasters, in terms of the different types of impact and strategies adopted by women and men.     

Resident participation in post-Lushan earthquake housing reconstruction: a multi-stage field research method-based inquiry

In April 2013, a 7.0?Mw earthquake struck in Lushan County, Sichuan Province, China, causing serious housing damage. Housing reconstruction is a crucial part of disaster recovery, and resident participation has been recognized as a key part of reconstruction success. This paper examined housing reconstruction resident participation in the post-Lushan earthquake period as a multi-stage problem based on multi-stakeholder collaborative perspectives, which covered emergency shelter, temporary housing and permanent housing stages. Multi-stage field research was conducted in the affected areas, and the residents were found to be fully involved in the reconstruction with a ‘high – medium – high' distribution across the three stages. Resident participation experiences were summarized in terms of previous earthquake education, NGO participation and community-based organization functions, and the reasons discussed, such as civic awareness and civic rights. Problems regarding improper reconstruction and cultural conflicts were also examined and valuable suggestions given.     

城市绿地系统建设与城市减灾防灾

自然灾害往往给城市造成重大损失.在城市综合防灾减灾体系中,城市绿地系统占有十分重要的位置.城市绿地系统是城市规划和建设中的重要组成部分,它不仅具有美化城市环境、净化空气、平衡城市生态系统、为城市居民提供休憩游乐场所等作用,同时还具有防震、防火、防洪、减轻灾害的功能.从城市绿地的定义和分类人手,分析了城市绿地系统在城市综合防灾减灾中的作用,并通过介绍和分析日本防灾公园的规划建设,探讨了城市避灾绿地系统的规划方法.     

The Northridge Earthquake: Community-based Approaches to Unmet Recovery Needs

The 1994 Northridge, California earthquake has proven to be one of the most costly disasters in United States history. Federal and state assistance programmes received some 681,000 applications from victims for various forms of relief. In spite of the flow of US$11 billion in federal assistance into Los Angeles and Ventura counties, many victims have failed to obtain adequate relief. These unmet needs relate to the vulnerability of particular class and ethnic groups. In response to unmet needs, a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become involved in the recovery process. This paper, based on evidence collected from hundreds of in-depth interviews with the people involved, examines the activities of several community-based organisations (CBOs) and other NGOs as they have attempted to assist vulnerable people with unmet post-disaster needs. We discuss two small ethnically diverse communities in Ventura County, on the periphery of the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The earthquake and resultant disaster declaration provided an opportunity for local government and NGOs to acquire federal resources not normally available for economic development. At the same time the earthquake created political openings in which longer-term issues of community development could be addressed by various local stakeholders. A key issue in recovery has been the availability of affordable housing for those on low incomes, particularly Latinos, the elderly and farm workers. We discuss the successes and limitations of CBOs and NGOs as mechanisms for dealing with vulnerable populations, unmet needs and recovery issues in the two communities.