Challenges in Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction: Analysis of Urban vs. Rural Communities

Reconstruction of safe and secure housing is commonly considered the most effective means of returning rural and urban communities affected by disasters to pre-disaster living conditions. In addition, the reconstruction process and the degree of its success greatly impacts the community’s ability to work through the next disaster. The various challenges that the reconstruction process encounters have been identified, investigated, and analyzed in this study. After reviewing 177 articles in detail, approximately 30% of which pertained to reconstruction of houses after earthquakes, 54 challenges were identified and placed into four categories: general, physical, social, and economic. About 30% of the reviewed articles were studied the challenges of housing reconstruction after earthquake. In addition, the journal of Disaster received the highest frequency (37) among the reviewed papers in which the challenges of housing reconstruction after disaster in urban and rural communities were studied. This study succinctly assists decision-makers and project managers allocate needed resources effectively and improve the performance of post-disaster reconstruction of housing in both rural and urban areas. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Budapest University of Technology and Economics & Diamond Congress Ltd Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2020.