1st Edition
Design for Disaster Recovery Putting People First to Reset Humanitarian Aid in the Built Environment
1. A Disaster Strikes Mishal. 2. Unpacking Urban Disasters. 3. Resetting Humanitarian Response. 4. Learning from Development. 5. Putting People First. 6. Sheltering After Disaster. 7. Letting Go.
Biography
David Sanderson trained as an architect and has worked for over 30 years across the World, engaging in development and disasters. After four years with a disaster management consultancy, he joined the NGO CARE International UK in 1998 as head of policy, specialising in urban issues, and was subsequently regional manager for Southern and West Africa, based in Johannesburg. In 2006, David became Director of a UK centre focusing on development and emergencies. Between 2013 and 2014, he was a full-time Visiting Professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. After 18 months as a Professor in Norway, he joined the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 2016 as the Inaugural Judith Neilson Chair of Architecture. He has served on the boards of CARE, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Humanitarian Innovation Fund.
'Many communities around the world are in a constant state of recovery from one disaster to another. At the same time, humanitarian actors are being forced to "do less with less." In this context, David Sanderson’s book is a welcome contribution to helping policymakers build resilient recoveries. It offers practical guidance for breaking the cycle of disaster-recovery-repeat and makes a compelling case for rethinking traditional humanitarian approaches by applying developmental principles. Crucially, through real-world examples, the book highlights the power of people-centred recoveries, when recovery is treated as a deliberate process, driven from the local level up, and when communities are empowered to exercise their agency. This book is a must-read for anyone working in disaster risk reduction and recovery, development planning or climate change adaptation.'
Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction
'At a critical time of slashed aid budgets, despite escalating threats to urban areas posed by climate change, David Sanderson has written a book that will become essential reading to those involved with disasters and development. Chapter after chapter are brim-full of timely, practical and well-proven advice. The text highlights the need for humility in officials as they provide well targeted support to vulnerable communities and those recovering from disaster impact. Chapter four is particularly welcome in summarising the innovations of great thinkers who have laid the foundation blocks of effective recovery by putting people first in low-income urban housing provision.'
Ian Davis, Visiting Professor, Kyoto, Lund and Oxford Brookes Universities
