Forum topic

A report by a special rapporteur to the United Nations (2011) concluded that reconstruction and recovery too often focus on physical structures (houses), where for those affected the recovery of livelihoods, social networks or services are frequently a higher priority. Much of the impact of recovery and reconstruction on people’s livelihoods and resilience can only be truly understood in the longer term. The majority of what we know about the impact of that work is from project evaluations. If reconstruction is to improve further, more longitudinal studies need to be undertaken.

 

BSHF is currently undertaking a research project to make a contribution towards filling this gap.  Eight previous winners or finalists of the World Habitat Awards and four additional cases on reconstruction are being studied with the organisations involved returning to the field to find out about the current situation. 

 

At the conference, the results of the fieldwork will be presented by a series of invited speakers who are revisiting reconstruction projects established between 1976 and 2009. The sessions will focus on reconstruction projects from India and Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, and across Latin America. Each session will conclude with a plenary discussion to which all participants are invited to contribute. The final session will be a workshop to identify common lessons and actions going forward. 

 

BSHF is planning to publish a book containing a review of each case study presented and an analysis of plenary and workshop discussion.