INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND POST DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING ICEE-PDRP 2016 24-26 APRIL 2016, BHAKTAPUR, NEPAL
Perception of Residents on Housing Alternatives in the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake Post disaster Reconstruction— A Case Study of Bhaktapur Mohan Moorti Panti and Sujan Shresthaii
Abstract The paper makes a study on the perception of the households towards the possibilities of reconstruction of their dwellings damaged by the tremors of Gorkha Earthquake 2015. The case studies are from two localities of Bhaktapur. The survey identifies houses of different degree of damage due to the earthquake and studies the location, plot shapes, surrounding building situations, and access to the dwelling unit. The resident household owners were given three different alternatives in the rebuilding of the house. The first one is to rebuild the dwelling in the existing plot by the owner and the second is first to make plot adjustment planning of the concerned area before the owner carries the rebuilding work. The third is to build cooperative housing with living space arranged in a single or two floor levels where the construction will be managed by community cooperative or public institution. This paper then makes an analysis on the correlation of the existing dwelling environment properties and the perception of the residents on the various rebuilding alternatives. Keywords: Reconstruction, Bhaktapur, housing alternatives, urban renewal, regeneration
1. Introduction The reconstruction works following the Nepal Earthquake 2015 is a daunting task and faces numerous difficulties to overcome. The problems on rehabilitation and reconstruction are of manifold dimensions such as of human resource, management, finance, legal structure and administration. These dimensions belong to instruments of conventional operation for any project. With more than six hundred thousands of dwellings collapsed, reconstruction of dwelling units in both the urban and rural situations is of utmost importance in the rehabilitation works. The nature of reconstruction of urban area differs from that of rural areas. Kathmandu Valley is one of the severely affected regions among the 14 districts as categorized by the Reconstruction Authority. It is also in this Valley that most of the urban population of the country is concentrated. Other settlements of concentration affected by the earthquake are small market town settlements. In the Valley geography, the damage is more pronounced at east and southeast direction. Sankhu i. Professor, Postgraduate Department of Urban Design and Conservation. PhD; Email: sribahal@gmail.com ii. Architect, Adjunct Lecturer, IEC College of Art and Fashion. Email: das.sujan@gmail.com