Quality and standards in post-disaster shelter

Author: Jo da Silva

Date published

17 July 2007

Price
Free
The Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers
Back to Previous

Quality and standards in post-disaster shelter

Tag
Author
Jo da Silva
Date published
17 July 2007
Price
Free
The Structural Engineer
Author

Jo da Silva

Citation

The Structural Engineer, Volume 85, Issue 14, 2007

Date published

17 July 2007

Author

Jo da Silva

Citation

The Structural Engineer, Volume 85, Issue 14, 2007

Price

Free

This paper proposes that quality should be considered from the shelter occupant's perspective, and whilst this will vary in different scenarios, it can be defined by 12 standard characteristics under two key headings - habitability and durability.

Introduction
Shelter plays an essential role in post-disaster situations both in saving lives and in promoting early recovery by helping to restore dignity, support livelihoods and re-establish communities. To be effective shelter must be of adequate quality, yet there is no commonly accepted definition of what this means.

This shortfall is compounded by the lack of expertise or institutional knowledge within individual organisations, high staff turnover and the large number of new actors that enter the sector for the first time in post-disaster situations. To some extent this has been overcome by the introduction of standards and indicators in recent post-disaster responses combined with recent initiatives to reform co-ordination structures.

However inconsistencies in terminology, approach and interpretation prevail and quality is often compromised due to post-disaster timescales and budgetary constraints. This paper proposes that quality should be considered from the shelter occupant's perspective, and whilst this will vary in different scenarios, it can be defined by 12 standard characteristics under two key headings - habitability and durability - which provide a framework for designing and subsequently monitoring and evaluating shelter programmes.

Additional information

Format:
PDF
Publisher:
The Institution of Structural Engineers

Tags

Climate change Resilience Issue 14

Related Resources & Events

Course
<h4>Adaptive reuse of existing buildings - June 2025</h4>

Adaptive reuse of existing buildings - June 2025

This practical course helps structural engineers to confidently approach a refurbishment or reuse project, looking at the initial steps to understand an existing structure, how to apply basic conservation principles and the design implications and considerations.

Date – 11 June 2025
Location – 47-58 Bastwick St, London, EC1V 3PS
Price – £295 - £445 + VAT
Training
Exterior view of London Road Building

Reusing existing buildings conference 2023

This hybrid conference was dedicated to best practice in the early stages of adaptive reuse projects through assessment, appraisal and design decisions.

Date – 7 December 2023
Author – Claire Young & Lukas Ziak
Price – Free
Training
Rear view of male architect photographing construction site through digital tablet

Strengthening remediation using carbon fibre

Part of the 'Analysis and strengthening of concrete buildings 1950 - 1985 series' this webinar explores the benefits and principles of strengthening historic concrete structures using carbon fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) and how these are implemented in the Eurocode 2, second generation.

Date – 24 April 2024
Author – Various
Price – £45 - £70 + VAT