Post-disaster management in housing reconstruction

Gaza Strip-Palestine had experienced several man-made disasters in the previous years and continues to occur. In less than ten years, Gaza has witnessed three large-scale wars in 2008, 2012, and 2014. These disasters caused massive devastation in terms of human causalities and physical destruction in houses, buildings, and infrastructure. In disaster management, housing reconstruction plays an essential role in long-term development. However, the Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction (PDHR) is one of the least successful sectors in terms of implementation. Besides, resourcing and its implications on PDHR have also received little attention. Hence, there is a critical need to gain further insights of PDHR for better community recovery and sustainable development after large-scale disasters. In addressing this aim, the research investigates the resourcing approaches in PDHR, assesses the success level of PDHR, identifies and measures the challenges and success factors impacting the resource availability in PDHR, and explores women empowerment practices in PDHR. As a result, the research develops two frameworks and a roadmap. The ASIE framework which consists of Assessment and selection (AS), Implementation (I), and Evaluation (E) is developed with a guide for ideal selection and implementation of the most appropriate resourcing approach in PDHR. The second framework is to successfully acquire resource availability in PDHR. In the same manner, the roadmap is also developed to successfully overcome the critical challenges hindering the resourcing for PDHR.In order to fulfill the research objectives, the research adopted a mixed-method approach with a sequential exploratory design to collect the research data. The case study covered an investigation of PDHR in the context of 2014 war in Gaza Strip. Data of case study was collected using semi-structured interviews of key informants in implementing agencies as a primary source, and document reviews, as well. The case study provided a comprehensive understanding of PDHR through exploring the adopted resourcing approaches in PDHR, investigating the challenges hindering the resourcing for PDHR, investigating the success factors influencing the resource availability in PDHR, and investigating the women empowerment practices in PDHR. The content analysis of case study identified three adopted resourcing approaches in post-2014 war for housing reconstruction including (self-help reconstruction approach, contractor reconstruction approach, and housing project approach). These resourcing approaches were studied in terms of strategy, selection criteria, monitoring mechanism, building back better, advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned. Findings of these approaches revealed the inefficiency of one-approach-fits-all in the reconstruction of housing units for the affected families in post-disasters. These also helped to broadly understand their implementation with success points and weak points. The case study also reported the challenges, success factors, and women empowerment in the context of 2014 war in Gaza Strip.Subsequently, qualitative findings were consolidated to develop the questionnaires for quantitative data collection. Two questionnaires were done with 370 beneficiaries of PDHR and from 55 key informants in the implementing agencies of PDHR. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis using SPSS version 22 software package. The first questionnaire measured the success level of PDHR in terms of: beneficiaries' participation, beneficiaries' satisfaction, flexibility to make changes in the future, transparency and accountability, and reconstruction fund. It also measured the applicability level of women empowerment practices. The success level of PDHR was the highest in terms of participation in house design, participation in managing and monitoring the reconstruction process, and the overall satisfaction of the reconstructed houses. Meanwhile, the most applied practices in women empowerment were ensuring the right f land titles for females heading houses, equal distribution of financial assistance, and equal access to resources and information related to reconstruction. The second questionnaire measured the effect of challenges and the influence of success factors on resourcing the PDHR. Critical challenges conforming to effect between moderate and strong effect were shortlisted to seven challenges. The most critical challenges were difficulties of obtaining permits from the Israeli side to flow reconstruction material into Gaza, the insufficient fund for reconstruction efforts, and refusal of the international community to contact the local de facto government in Gaza. Meanwhile, critical success factors corresponding to influential level were shortlisted to 19 success factors. The highestsuccess factors were enhancing transparency and accountability, the call for international support to secure funds for reconstruction efforts, and the strong leadership from the government.Finally, the research findings from qualitative and quantitative approaches in the resourcing approaches consistent with the existing literature were used to develop the ASIE framework to effectively select, implement and evaluate the adopted resourcing approach in PDHR. The research findings from qualitative and quantitative approaches in challenges and success factors were used to develop the framework of resource availability. This framework helps the reconstruction stakeholders to study, evaluate, and analyze the factors impacting the resource availability in PDHR. Moreover, the quantitative findings of challenges also used to propose a roadmap to highlight the critical challenges and suggest measures to overcome them.The novelty of this research is that it has merged four main themes altogether for effective PDHR: resourcing approaches, challenges, success factors, and women empowerment. It filled the knowledge gap in resourcing and its implications on PDHR and the gap in women empowerment in PDHR. Besides, this research reported the findings of the PDHR in Gaza Strip-Palestine. The research has also introduced a new resourcing approach for PDHR that is the "housing project approach". The research featured seven critical challenges hampering the resourcing for PDHR, nineteen critical success factors influencing the resource availability in PDHR, and five critical practices of women empowerment in PDHR. The research also developed two frameworks including the ASEI, and the framework of resource availability. It also proposed a roadmap will help the reconstruction stakeholders to successfully acquire resources for PDHR. Nevertheless, the research findings related to success level of PDHR and women empowerment were confined to the beneficiaries of PDHR. In the same manner, the findings related to challenges and success factors impacting resource availability were limited to the implementing agencies. Therefore, future work is needed to explore the research objectives from other perspectives. Moreover, there is a need to study the same objectives in infrastructure sector, and other stages of disaster management.