Analysis of Permanent Housing Built after Disaster: Van (Turkey)

Abstract

In 2011, 644 people passed away after two earthquakes struck the city of Van, located in eastern Turkey. Houses collapsed or were rendered uninhabitable. Thousands of people became homeless. In response, the government built 17 489 units of permanent housing in a standard size and type. This study determined a more effective housing allocation for earthquake victims by considering the types of households (one-person households, one-family households, extended-family households and multi-person, no family households) and the total available housing area as allotted by the government's relief building budget. The Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to prioritize home features for each type of household. These results showed that housing size tailored to household need was more important than price, location or design. Mathematical modeling was then used to identify housing space allocations that would serve family needs better than a uniform building approach.