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Reports the results of a study carried out using interviews, household surveys, physical surveys, economic appraisal and observations of agencies’ contacts with residents, to investigate whether rebuilding grants are viable as a complementary approach to urban renewal. Gives a detailed example of how to calculate a rebuilding grant. Concludes that rebuilding grants are a very valuable complement to urban renewal, with very few amendments required.

After the catastrophic 2009 bushfires in the state of Victoria, Australia, the State Government provided information and advice, short-term and temporary accommodation as well as financial assistance to bushfire-affected communities. A tension developed between quickly rebuilding housing and re-establishing known social and economic networks versus a slower and more deliberative process that focuses on long-term community outcomes. Whilst there was a widespread assumption that quick rebuilding would be beneficial, resulting in immediate pressure to do so, it became evident that many people were not prepared to, or even did not want to rebuild. Thus it became important to provide time and support for people to consider their options away from the immediate pressures to rebuild that are often inherent in post-disaster recovery processes. This became known as “holding the space” and included the introduction of interim supports such as building temporary villages and other supports which enable people to achieve appropriate interim accommodation without having to rebuild immediately. However, even two years after the bushfires a significant proportion of people remained undecided whether they wanted to rebuild or not. The post-bushfire experience pointed to a number of lessons including the importance of appropriate timing of post-disaster activities, careful targeting of financial assistance, need for developing better and lower cost interim housing options and pre-impact planning. Given the complex nature of rebuilding following a disaster, design professionals should focus not just on the final house, but also look at housing options that blur the distinction between temporary and permanent. Their designs should be quick to build, offer a good quality of life, be affordable for most and be flexible in design for future use.

A complete enumerative study was made of the operating and maintenance costs of the 1,255 delivery post offices throughout Japan in 2000, in order to grasp the characteristics of the whole life costs of post office buildings. The operating and maintenance cost of five standard post offices were also monitored for 20 years. This paper demonstrates how the acquired knowledge of the whole life costs is used for the decision making of the facility investment. After analysing the relationship between the rebuilding cycle, and rebuilding, repair and improvement costs, by changing the present rebuilding at age 40 to building additions at age 40 and rebuilding at age 60, it became apparent that a significant reduction in facilities investment costs could be expected.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex factors driving the decision of commercial property owners (investors and developers) to stay and rebuild after a major disaster. The study examines what happens in the post-disaster rebuild of a central business district (CBD) from the perspective of commercial property owners in Christchurch, New Zealand.

An interpretive approach is adopted to understand what it takes to rebuild in a post-disaster environment through the lens and experiences of property owners. The study has observed the significant physical changes that have occurred in the Christchurch CBD as a result of the earthquakes. For this study, qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews from 20 purposively identified property owners rebuilding the Christchurch CBD. The interview findings were subjected to a thematic analysis used to provide a factual way of characterising the viewpoints of those interviewed.

The findings have highlighted that the decision-making behaviour of property owners in Christchurch’s CBD post-disaster rebuild has been driven significantly by an emotional attachments to people and place.

The global trend in increasing destruction from natural disasters has raised the need for more efficient and effective post-disaster responses and activities. The paper has developed a knowledge base required to inform public policy and advice all those involved in the rebuilding of cities after a major disaster.

This paper contributes to the property literature and debates about the decision-making behaviour of commercial property owners who are engaged in rebuilding after a major natural disaster. The qualitative methodology used presents a novel approach to property research. The findings challenge the underlying premises of much of the mainstream property literature on normative investment behaviour and decision making.

The purpose of this paper is to draw on available data regarding the historical event of the major Lisbon earthquake of 1755 in order to understand the governance structure that was set to rebuild the city of Lisbon, as well as to elaborate on Max Weber’s theory of authority.

The present study aims to extend our knowledge on the role of leadership in organizational transformation, by examining the authority structure of governance in the aftermath of a major catastrophic event, using the study of an extreme case to generate new management theory.

The study founded evidence that the successful rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake was accompanied by a certain kind of governance structure that included an authority structure that simultaneously incorporated Weber’s authority types of charisma, tradition and rationality; and there was a clear distinction between the roles of each kind of authority, as well as the inviolable respect and sacredness of each other’s terrain that seems to lead to that effectiveness.

It is possible that the historical conditions in which this social transformation took place might not be repeatable in today’s context, but the analysis of such an extreme case of destruction and rebuilding evidences that the “atomistic” approach of Max Weber on authority can be enriched with a “molecular” approach that, at the same time, helps to further develop the concept of “shared leadership” by analyzing it from a Weberian point of view.

Today’s organizations should analyze their governance structure and management staff from a “molecular” Weberian perspective, if they want to achieve major transformations.

The study further develops Max Weber’s theory of authority and discusses it regarding a “shared leadership” perspective.

In April 2009, a terrible earthquake badly damaged the city of L'Aquila. Several studies have shown that the citizens' ability to react to a stressful situation is related to the satisfaction level of services during the reconstruction process of the city. The general aim of the present study is to investigate whether the knowledge of information about the reconstruction phase has an influence on the satisfaction of the citizens, regarding the lifestyles and the capacity to adapt and respond to changes.

Five hundred and three residents in L'Aquila city were interviewed using a questionnaire that examines the satisfaction level, understanding of political issues and the resiliency skills of individuals.

The date shows that the lack of information about the work of the facilities of by the government has caused dissatisfaction among the citizens who feel that they have not been well informed about the rebuilding on the city.

The study can represent an indication concerning the facilities and assistance provided by politicians and be understood as an input in order to improve the administrative system and public welfare.

The purpose of this paper is to synthesise critical success factors (CSFs) for advancing post-disaster infrastructure recovery and underpinning recovery authorities in decision making when facing future disasters.

The seismic recovery after the Canterbury (NZ) earthquake sequence in 2010-2011 was selected as a case study for identifying CSFs for an efficient recovery of infrastructure post-disaster. A combination of research approaches, including archival study, observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting data and evidences by engaging with participants involved at various tiers in the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The CSFs are evaluated and analysed by tracking the decision-making process, examining resultant consequences and foreseeing onwards challenges.

Six salient CSFs for strengthening infrastructure recovery management after disasters are identified. Furthermore, the study shows how each of these CSFs have been incorporated into the decision-making process in support of the post-disaster recovery and what difficulties encountered in the recovery process when implementing.

The proposed CSFs provide a future reference and guidance to be drawn on by decision makers when project-managing post-disaster recovery operations.

The value of the paper is that it bridges the gap between managerial contexts and technical aspects of post-disaster recovery process in an effort to rapidly and efficiently rebuild municipal infrastructure.

The importance of trust in student–university relations is relevant not only for the quality of the educational process and the satisfaction with studying achieved by students, but also for the importance of positive evaluation of HEIs to others. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the stages and mechanisms that build trust in student–university relations, the causes of trust violation and trust repair practices.

Public university students from Poland (16) and Germany (12) took part in the study based on semi-structured interviews. The research procedure followed an inductive approach. In addition, the critical events technique was used to identify trust violation and trust repair practices.

The study identifies the stages of the HEIs trust building process and the mechanisms upon which it is built. It attempts to catalogue trust violations, distinguishing three groups of “perpetrators” and categories of their differentiation in terms of their impact on trust. The study indicates ad hoc, informal methods of trust repair applied at HEIs and their conditions.

This study provides useful guidance for managers on how to build and maintain trust in HEIs.

The issue of trust building in HEIs is relatively new and therefore has not been sufficiently recognised to date. This study is the first to the author's knowledge to comprehensively address the problem of trust building, pointing out the mechanisms on which the formation of trust in HEIs is based. This study provides a novel contribution to the limited literature on trust violation and trust repair in HEIs.

This paper aims to address a critical aspect of post‐event recovery, namely the rebuilding of the housing stock following a devastating natural disaster. Using hurricanes as an example, challenges and opportunities are systematically discussed in hopes of sparking some further discussion and new economic models (including incentive‐based) that can help move communities toward greater resiliency and sustainability.

As a viewpoint paper, this paper relies on the author's experience in post‐hurricane damage investigation, structural retrofit, and design to minimize loss.

In evaluating how best to rebuild following a natural disaster, there are clear opportunities (and needs) in the areas of structural damage/loss mitigation, codes and standards, building material and system selection, and risk communication. Specific suggestions are made in each of these areas and the importance of risk‐based decision is stressed in each area.

This paper contributes to the ongoing and informed discussions on resiliency, sustainable design, and disaster‐resistant communities.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how post-disaster legislation can be used to support building back better (BBB) in the horizontal infrastructure sector (roading, water, wastewater and stormwater networks).

A case study approach was taken looking at the rebuild following the Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand. Data were collected through document analysis and semi-structured open-ended interviews with members of the organization responsible for implementing the horizontal infrastructure rebuild.

The results showed that the post-disaster legislative actions taken in Christchurch were comparable to existing findings on post-disaster legislative best practices in developed countries. This study confirmed that post-disaster legislation is an effective mechanism to support BBB through enforcing BBB concepts such as risk reduction and better implementation, and facilitating the recovery process to improve efficiency.

It is recommended that this study is extended to conduct similar case studies in other countries to further explore legislative implications in different sectors as well as different legislative environments.

This paper makes a valuable contribution to existing research on how post-disaster legislation can be used to support BBB in the horizontal infrastructure sector. The findings also add to wider knowledge on the Canterbury earthquakes recovery process.