A Comparison of Different Reconstruction Modes and Adaptive Evaluation Systems for Community Recovery Following the Wenchuan Earthquake

Abstract

Living environment reconstruction in Wenchuan earthquake disaster-hit areas received substantial attention internationally, so it is imperative to examine out the methods employed, to evaluate community reconstruction and recovery performances. However, the existing evaluation systems for post-disaster reconstruction practices are mostly generalized models, and thus, the actual differences among various reconstruction modes and local characteristics are given insufficient attention. After 10 years of reconstruction and recovery, Dujiangyan, Beichuan, and Wenchuan have exhibited distinct differences and characteristics because of two different reconstruction modes: “paired assistance” and “self-construction”. Based on a thorough review of the literature and expert judgments, this article focuses on the introduction of evaluation factors comprising the opinions and requirements of disaster victims. Adopting the “four-step method” to select the evaluation factors through conceptual consolidation, analytical structuring, indicator identification, and index creation, this article summarizes the homogeneities and heterogeneities of the three different areas. The results reveal that people in different areas under the influences of different reconstruction modes and local characteristics will emphasize different evaluation factors and demonstrate different levels of concern for the same factor. This article analyzes the three areas and establishes an adaptable evaluation index system to provide scientific guidance to community recovery evaluations in different areas after major disasters.

Social capital, policy fairness, and subjective life satisfaction of earthquake survivors in Wenchuan, China: a longitudinal study based on post-earthquake survey data

“…The reconstruction of China’s Wenchuan area has received extensive international attention [ 26 ]. In order to understand the recovery process and developmental trajectory of individual life satisfaction in a disaster environment, this study uses data from a post-disaster social reconstruction longitudinal survey implemented in the earthquake-affected areas of Sichuan.…”

Pre-Disaster Retrofit Decisions for Sustainable Transportation Systems in Urban Areas

“…To ensure system connectivity [15] under disaster scenario ω, constraint (7) shows that it is necessary for at least one path to exist between OD pair [i, j] after being retrofitted as optimization plan Y. To ensure travel time reliability of a transportation system after being retrofitted as optimization plan Y under disaster scenario ω, constraint (8) shows that the ratio of emergency travel time to normal travel time between OD pairs should not exceed a coefficient γ t [16], whose value depends on the required retrofit effect. Constraint (10) explains that traffic flow of each link should not exceed post-disaster capacity [23,36].…”

“…Transportation systems play a vital role in life assistance and post-disaster recovery [4][5][6]. In the 2013 China earthquake, 4428 km of road was damaged, including 541 km of national and provincial trunk highways, 3887 km of rural road, and 21 bridges [5,7,8]. Damage to key infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and tunnels may lead to functional loss of transportation systems, which seriously hinders effective disaster risk management.…”

“…By analogy to the transportation field, this paper proposes that resilience is the ability of sustainable transportation systems to engage in emergency response, disaster risk mitigation, and post-disaster recovery, which reflects the ability to resist [8], respond to, and recover from disasters. The main components of resilience that contribute to effective risk management through transportation systems are resistance ability, emergency response ability, and recovery ability.…”

How Does Paired Assistance to Disaster-Affected Areas (PADAA) Contribute to Economic Sustainability? A Qualitative Analysis of Wenchuan County

“…The economic support is directed towards reconstruction efforts and ultimately facilitates recovery under the arrangement and overseeing of the central government [25]. The PADAA models entails a comprehensive approach towards funding, policy support and technical assistance across different aspects such as urban/rural housing, town/rural construction, public services, infrastructure, industry, disaster prevention and mitigation, and ecological/environmental restoration [26]. According to the regulations of the central government, the annual investment of the donor province must be no less than 1% of its financial income in the previous year and should be provided for three years after the disaster [27,28].…”