Author(s): M. Piasecki; P. Gurian; F. Montalto; M. Sheller; T. Ayalew; H. Galada; S. O’Connor

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Keywords: Haiti; Leogane; Earthquake; Infrastructure; Sustainability; WASH

Abstract: As disaster relief operations in Haiti are gradually replaced with reconstruction efforts and billions of dollars are poised to enter Haiti in order to finance this reconstruction effort, strategies need to be developed on how to do this most effectively. In this project we pose the hypothesis that an informed process through which the local citizens are integrated into decision-making will yield are more sustainable solutions to post-earthquake infrastructure problems than an approach by which outside expertise solely determines what needs to be done and how. The team spent two weeks in the summer of 2010 conducting surveys, interviews and workshops in the community of Leogane, a town 30 km west of the capitol Port-au-Prince and located close to the earthquake epicenter. The town is largely destroyed or suffered heavy damage to most of its buildings. We will present some of our findings and project future directions for the reconstruction.

DOI:

Year: 2011