Analysing community needs and skills for enhancing disaster resilience in the built environment

Perera, Srinath, Adeniyi, Onaopepo and Babatunde, Solomon (2017) Analysing community needs and skills for enhancing disaster resilience in the built environment. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 8 (3). pp. 292-305. ISSN 1759-5908

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Abstract

Purpose:
A better cooperation among all the stakeholders working towards enhancing the disaster resilience of societies can only be achieved if the expectations or the needs of each stakeholder are understood. This study attempts to outline the needs of communities affected by disasters for the purpose of aligning the needs and skill requirements with the abilities of built environment professionals serving these communities. Therefore, the study aims to identify and describe community needs and skill requirements for enhancing disaster resilience.

Design/methodology/approach:
The study adopted literature review and semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with key members of some communities affected by disasters as well as some of the professionals that participated in the restoration/reconstruction of those communities. Data obtained were analysed using Nvivo 10.

Findings:
The study revealed the current and emerging needs and skills of communities related to the built environment professionals towards enhancing disaster resilience. Thus, twenty nine classifications of skill and needs were derived and classified under five major disaster resilience dimensions to include social, economic, technological, environmental and institutional.

Research limitations/implications:
This study focuses only of the needs and skills of the ‘community’, which is the major stakeholder that are basically the receiver of all what other stakeholders in disaster resilience have to offer.

Practical implications:
This study would be beneficial to the built environment professionals involved in disaster resilience to be aware of the specific needs and skills of the communities affected by disasters for the purpose of developing their competencies.

Originality/value:
The study findings would be useful for both the built environment professionals and higher education institutions (HEIs). Since it is important for professionals to update and upgrade their knowledge towards enhancing their capabilities and meeting the expectations of stakeholders towards enhancing societal resilience to disasters across all domains of resilience.

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