Building Earthquake-Resistant Houses in Haiti: The Homeowner-Driven Model
- Earthquakes kill through the collapse of poorly designed and built buildings, which the author calls a man-made problem with man-made solutions.
- Homeowner-driven reconstruction has been used by governments in India, Indonesia and China and is proposed for Haitians who lost their homes.
- In Indonesia, houses that met Build Change's minimum standard for earthquake safety were not damaged in the earthquake of September 30, 2009.
- In West Sumatra, almost half of homeowners who could choose their structure built a timber-frame house with a masonry skirt, unlike in Aceh.
- The author recommends that donors allocate a significant portion of reconstruction funds to technical assistance and training.
The file holds the front matter of the Fall 2010 issue of Innovations, a quarterly journal from MIT Press, and the case narrative by Elizabeth Hausler (pages 91 to 115 of the issue). The issue lists lead essays, cases on Fonkoze, AIDG and Inveneo, analysis articles and policy perspectives on rebuilding Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. Hausler argues that earthquakes kill through the collapse of poorly designed and built buildings, and that Haitians who lost their homes are suited to homeowner-driven reconstruction, a model used by governments in India, Indonesia and China.
She describes how Build Change developed its confined masonry standard and trained builders, homeowners, engineers and officials in Aceh, Indonesia, and how the work continued after the 2009 West Sumatra earthquake. The article concludes that agencies should fund standards, capacity building and technical assistance for homeowners as the Haitian reconstruction begins.
How to cite
Build Change, 2010, Building Earthquake-Resistant Houses in Haiti: The Homeowner-Driven Model, accessed via HaitiDocs, https://www.haitidocs.org/doc/build-change-2010-homeowner-driven-reconstruction
- Rights holder
- Build Change