Post-Sidr public housing assistance in Bangladesh: a case study

Abstract

Housing is not only a structure, but also a process tied up with social, cultural, psychological and economic attributes. Following Cyclone Sidr, the Government of Bangladesh has been using ‘build back better’ as a colloquial slogan to push forward the idea of resilience in post-disaster interventions, especially with regard to rebuilding houses. This paper examines how and whether the idea is reflected through the government's post-Sidr housing project at Gabtola. It problematizes the slogan from the accounts of community participation, local practicalities, culture, weather and potential future risks. Based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork at Gabtola, this research found that the basic attributes of the ‘build back better’ slogan are absent with regard to the housing scheme's cost efficiency, management, livelihoods, public health aspects and tolerance against a super-cyclone. These findings will provide valuable insights into the problems associated with the implementation of post-cyclone public housing programmes in Bangladesh. Such insights can assist public authorities and other relevant organizations and donor agencies in revising and improving their post-disaster housing programmes in the wake of future disasters.

Keywords:

• Cyclone Sidr
• Bangladesh
• public housing
• ‘build back better’
• community participation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the submitted draft. They are also indebted to Prof. Peter Atkins for his critical comments on an early draft. Above all, they sincerely thank the Moyes Trust for generously funding this research.