Sustainable shelters for post disaster reconstruction : an integrated approach for reconstruction after the South Asia earthquake

A year after the South Asia earthquake, over 60% of the survivors are still vulnerable due to the lack of adequate shelter, the absence of basic facilities for water and sanitation and livelihood restoration. The harsh topography, limited financial and human resources of the displaced and the environmental impact have resulted in the construction of shelters that do not directly address the improvement in living conditions and remain vulnerable to future disasters. This thesis presents an overview of an integrated approach towards making the reconstruction in the earthquake affected areas of Northern Pakistan more sustainable. The review of shelter solutions and practical recommendations aim at showing that there is no 'single best' solution in terms of shelter design. Rather a synthesis of low tech solutions for improving the sustainability and safety of existing shelters has been provided along with an understanding of the social mechanisms necessary to address local needs and priorities. There are three main components that have been included to provide the primary context and discuss the role and design for sustainable shelters in the earthquake affected areas of Northern Pakistan are the 'Review of Housing', 'Design' and the 'Structural test'.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Ali, Zehra (Zehra Hyder)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leslie Norford.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40402

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40402