Post occupancy evaluation of housing reconstruction after cyclone sidr

Post occupancy evaluation of housing reconstruction after a disaster is imperative for every nation that pushes ahead the idea of disaster resilient housing, which is obligatory for the social, cultural, and economic growth of a society or a country. Cyclone SIDR is the most dreadful of all catastrophes that have struck Bangladesh and aftermath of this devastation, a number of donor organizations stepped forward to help disaster victims by providing housing solutions. The aim of this study is to effectiveness analysis of these housing reconstruction programs from planning and construction standpoints with a post occupancy framework. Based on three months of detailed field survey at the most devastated location of cyclone SIDR, Southkhali Union (small rural area) of Sarankhola Upazila (sub-district) of Bagerhat District, this research infers that the donor organizations didn’t pay much attention in terms of choice, need and indigenous practices to provide reconstructed houses for the target beneficiaries. The study found that about 78% of the reconstructed houses hold dissatisfaction of the beneficiaries. As a result, people prompt to transform or modify 54% of the ‘Donor Driven’ houses soon after completion of the project. Another 16% donor driven house remained abandoned and rest 8% demolished. On the other hand, ‘Owner Driven’ houses were functionally perfect. They had freedom to build their houses with locally available natural materials with resilient planning and construction features which reduces disaster vulnerability and sustains for long time in comparison with donor driven houses.