Challenges of Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Asian Communities

Challenges of Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Asian Communities

Presented by K. Iftekhar Ahmed, PhD

February 7, 2008. 7pm, RMIT bld 50 (Orr Street, off Victoria Street) Gold coin donation

Asia is the most disaster affected continent and low-income communities there are often the most vulnerable to hazards. In this context, post-disaster housing reconstruction projects are implemented by various agencies with the aim of alleviating the sufferings of disaster victims. This presentation will focus on post-disaster housing reconstruction projects in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia that I have been involved in.

In Vietnam, the project was implemented by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) in response to Typhoon Xangsane in 2006. The project in Bangladesh was concerned with large-scale housing reconstruction as part of a recovery programme by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) after the large floods of 2004. Currently I am working with a research team at the University of Melbourne on assessing the sustainability of houses built in Indonesia after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the preliminary findings of this study are now evident.

Tremendous challenges remain in matching these projects to the needs and aspirations of communities. These case studies point to potential for good practice, but also highlight the variety of challenges that can arise, indicating ways how agencies might possibly address them.

(Click on image to downl;oad or print a poster)

About K. IFTEKHAR AHMED, PhD

Visiting AcademicFaculty of Architecture, Building & Planning

University of Melbourne

Iftekhar had been teaching at the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) during 1992-2004. Additionally, he has worked extensively as consultant for various building and disaster related projects, including for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh on family shelter reconstruction as part of a large post-flood recovery program during 2004-05. He also designed the curriculum and worked as coordinator of the Postgraduate Programs in Disaster Management at BRAC University, Bangladesh, which began in 2005. Iftekhar joined the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in 2006 and was responsible for managing the PROMISE (Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia) country projects in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. He also assisted in ADPC’s regional and national training courses, particularly the Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) course.
Iftekhar has worked in several other countries including Germany, India, UK and USA. Presently he is working as a Visiting Academic at the University of Melbourne, Australia on developing safer housing options for low-income Asian communities. Iftekhar completed his doctorate from Oxford Brookes University, UK and Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. He graduated in architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), India. He is a member of the Institute of Architects, Bangladesh and has several publications and books to his credit.