TRANSITIONAL SHELTER IS NOT JUST A DISASTER RESPONSE IT’S YOUR FUTURE

AN EVENT OCCURS; PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED FROM THERE HOMES SO WHAT IS THE GLOBAL OBJECTIVE? RETURN FAMILIES TO THEIR HOUSING STATUS AS IT WAS BEFORE THE EVENT

POINT1: Shelter is the issue It is almost always the central issue It is generally the key driver in response DISPLACEMENT = SHELTER THE OBJECTIVE IS EASY; IT IS GETTING THERE THAT IS GIVING US PROBLEMS

Where do we start?

DEPENDS WHERE WE WANT TO BE ON THE CURVE CURRENT TREND: We are moving away from tents (except for “first day” emergency response) We are moving toward the “world” of recovery

POINT 2: WHEN WE TAKE SOMEONE OUT OF A TENT AND PUT THEM INTO ANYTHING BETTER A WHOLE NEW DYNAMIC TAKES OVER AND A HOST OF INTERRELATED, INTERREACTING, MUTUALLY DEPENDANT PROBLEMS AND COMPLICATION ARISE

POINT 3: IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RECOVERY, THEN THE FOCUS HAS TO BE TOWARD THE “PERMANENT HOUSE” OR WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH RECOVERY

SIDE BAR Who is in charge to get us through the shelter-to-housing jungle? NO ONE But that is a subject for another day!

ONE APPROACH IS TRANSITION SHELTERS WHAT IS A TRANSITIONAL SHELTER? Helps to kick starts recovery Accelerate re-integration into the country’s incremental housing development The non-tent structure is a part of the forthcoming permanent house

CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSITIONAL SHELTER INTERVENSION Sets the tone for the recovery generally Sets the stage for the characteristics of the permanent house

CHARACTERISTIC TABLE See handout: Everyone of these listed elements is part of any transitional shelter intervention, only the degree or magnitude is at issue. and Which characteristics are the important ones at any given time, and the level of program complexity, depends on context.

LAND ISSUES REQUIRE VARIABLE, MULTIPLE INTERVENTION METHODOLOGIES Owns land Does not own but has tenured relationship No land but has assets to purchase land No land and no assets Place of permanent house Permanent house will be somewhere else

TYPES OF TRANSITIONAL SHELTER CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGIES Contractor provided Responder design-build Material provisions Material provision & technical assistance Owner driven

OWNER DRIVEN CONSTRUCTION APPROACH REQUIRES: A start-to-finish plan. Adequate supply assurance system Adequate labor/tradesmen supple Proper house designs/plans Knowledge/skill education for homeowners/tradesmen Government capacity to manage/administer the whole activity

URBAN vs. RURAL CONTEXT They are separate programs They need separate administrations There is little transference between them Financing, costs, management and time frames are all different Every the elements of the characteristics table is enhanced Responder skill sets must be greater

PAKISTAN SHELTER EXAMPLE 2005 Earthquake Failure to understand the complex dynamics of an urban recovery program No separate urban recovery program (World Bank) (Cluster system) Misunderstanding the importance of ruble removal (physical, emotional, economical) Need for strategically timed and placed imbedded expertise

PAKISTAN SHELTER EXAMPLE (con’t) 2005 Earthquake Inadequate financing mechanism Lack of understanding of the master planning function

KABUL SHELTER EXAMPLE 2006 INTEGRATED SHELTER PROGRAM Continuity of government leadership Paucity of planning Difficulties of imbedded expertise

GEORGIA SHELTER EXAMPLE 2008 RUSSIAN CONFLICT Failure to look at all potential sheltering options No rudimentary long term recovery plan Collective centers in heavily constructed buildings Unsophisticated construction NGO leaders Issue of life-cycle costing vs. project costing Conflicts with multi-use structures

SQD (SHELTER QUOTIONENT DIAGRAM) A MULTI-INTERVENTION PLANNING TOOL Keeps you in touch with the big picture Shows your intervention in context with the total need Displays the interrelationship of multiple interventions Provides a framework for scaling up and scaling down Provides a reporting structure

MAJOR NEEDS Good Definitions Our shelters must reasonably mitigate associated hazards Change institutional mind sets Trained shelter operatives Our method of response needs to contextual, based on need, and fit the R-D and shelter curves We need to reformulate the management/funding/financial mechanisms for shelter-to-housing interventions

MAJOR NEEDS (con’t) Development of an urban expertise (cities are dirty, messy, costly and politically ugly; no one wants to work there) Develop government assistance programs as a component to shelter interventions Develop programs to imbed shelter/construction manager experts into cognizant government agencies Establishment of a unified shelter-to- housing management system

MAJOR NEEDS (con’t) We need a shelter recovery manual for political leaders We need a transitional shelter frame that can self morph to local conditions

KEY ATTRIBUTES OF OFDA SHELTER PROGRAMS Disaster Risk Reductions Livelihood augmentation SPHERE minimum standards Every shelter has to have a latrine

FINISH

RIGHT NOW WE ARE MIRED IN THE WORST-OF-BOTH-WORLDS LIMBO

SHELTER STRATIGIES Tent camps Hosting Collective centers Rentals (including rent free agreements) Temporary single family units Transitional shelters Partial home repair Squatting