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Cities lying within conflict zones have continually faced hardships of both war aftermath and long-term sustainable reconstruction. Challenges have surpassed the typical question of recovery from post-conflict trauma, preserving urban heritage and iconic elements of the built environment, to face issues of critical decision making, rebuilding effectiveness and funding mechanisms, leading to time-consuming processes that lack adequate consistent long-term management. Some approaches have explored methods of effective long-term city reconstruction management but have not fully developed comprehensive approaches that alleviate the management of such complex processes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors devise an approach for the smart management of post-conflict city reconstruction. The authors focus on evaluation, strategic planning, reconstruction projects and implementation. The authors integrate building information modeling and geographic/geospatial information systems in a platform that allows for real-time analysis, reporting, strategic planning and decision making for managing reconstruction operations and projects among involved stakeholders including government agencies, funding organizations, city managers and public participants.

The approach suggested a smart management system for the reconstruction process of post-conflict cities. Implementing this system was shown to provide a multi-objective solution for post-conflict city reconstruction based on its interlinked modules.

Results may lack generalizability and require testing on several cases to provide rigorous findings for different case studies.

Implications include developing smart management systems for use by city managers and government authorities in post-conflict zones, as well as bottom-up decision making by including participant citizens especially populations in the diaspora.

The approach offers an integrated platform that informs city reconstruction decision makers, allowing for strategic planning tools for efficient planning, monitoring tools for continuous management during and after reconstruction, and effective platforms for communication among all stakeholders.

The literature emphasises that integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into planning processes is a key to reduce natural disaster losses, boost socio‐economic development needs and ensure sustainability in development gains. But linking DRR to the infrastructure reconstruction sector has become a challenge in developing country settings. Therefore, the purpose of the main research, of which this paper is based on, is to explore how integration of DRR into infrastructure reconstruction should be done in such a way to contribute to socio‐economic development process. As a part of this main aim, this paper focuses on exploring the existing gap in the concept of DRR at the policy‐making level and the infrastructure reconstruction project level. Thus, the paper seeks to review the current policies on post‐disaster reconstruction and DRR at the national and intermediate‐organisational level in Sri Lanka and integration of DRR concept within these policies. Not limiting to the policies, DRR processes were assessed on their success through the level of implementation of DRR strategies at the post‐disaster infrastructure reconstruction projects.

The paper is based on the data collated from a case study conducted in a water supply and sanitation reconstruction project in Sri Lanka supported by expert interviews among national and intermediate‐organisational level policy makers those who are involved in the development of policies related to disaster management and construction activities.

The results highlight the lack of individual policies on reconstruction and DRR of reconstruction at the national and intermediate‐organisational level except certain sections within certain policies. It was found that integration of DRR within these policies is lower than the level of importance of such integration. Further, the level of implementation of these policies in practise is average as it is averted by required speed and quality of reconstruction, availability of finances for reconstruction, the scale of reconstruction projects, reliability and practicability of policies, legitimacy of policies and adequacy of authority delegated to the relevant bodies, the consistency of various policies, detail explanations on relationships with other policies, the level of awareness about policies by the relevant bodies, attitude of construction professionals and experience of reconstruction bodies in the field of disaster reconstruction.

The findings of this paper is not limited to one specific policy related to disaster management or construction in Sri Lanka. It represents an overall view of most of the existing policies in the field. Furthermore, the data collection was limited to the Sri Lanka context.

The findings of this paper will be useful to relevant policy makers to understand the areas needed further attention within the policies in terms of integration of DRR concept within them.

The paper is unique in its findings as it discovers overall gaps in the concept of DRR within the policies and actual infrastructure reconstruction project practises.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key challenges facing non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) during decision making in post disaster housing reconstruction.

An extensive literature review was undertaken to establish the key challenges facing disaster management practitioners. Following this review, practitioners from leading NGOs were asked to discuss their experiences of post disaster housing reconstruction including the issues of hazard risk and appropriate mitigation including increasing vulnerability due to climate change, end‐users and stakeholder consultation in planning and design, technological solutions, and constructing the build; as these were identified in the literature as the principal challenges being faced by practitioners in the pursuit of sustainable construction.

The research results presented in this paper provide clear insights into the decision‐making practices of these NGOs and establish where improvements need to be made. The results also establish that knowledge management activities need to be more focused to ensure that lessons learnt previously are implemented elsewhere; critical in hazard mitigation and meeting the challenges of increased vulnerability due to climate change.

The paper includes recommendations for improved knowledge transfer and dissemination of “lessons learnt” in order to capture knowledge gained on projects. Future research will build on this through a detailed examination of the project management process applied to recently completed case studies. Key intervention points in the life cycle of projects will be identified and anticipated knowledge requirements for each stage mapped.

Interviews with practitioners reporting first hand on the challenges they face in the field. Useful for those supporting practitioners through research and development as well as donor organisations as it has been revealed that a lot of issues arise as a result of the way projects are funded.

Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) recently completed the systematisation of their reconstruction projects which were implemented between the early 1990s and the year 2003 in the poor areas of Peru affected by disasters or internal war. Within these projects, technological housing reconstruction schemes were designed and validated as part of an effort to reduce the vulnerability of the affected population. 1,300 houses were built during 5 years; 600 houses between April 1992 and April 1994 and 700 houses between July 2001 and July 2003. The key factors for successful risk reduction identified during post-disaster reconstruction were: the location of reconstructed housing, the construction procedures and materials employed, the improvement of people's self-construction techniques, and the improvement of local risk-management skills.

ITDG's first experience in Alto Mayo during the early 1990s involved participatory management at a local level and the use of the so-called improved “wattle and daub technology” (i.e. structural reinforcement of mud, wood and cane buildings). This technique is more earthquake-proof than the construction technology predominating in Peru (i.e. cement and iron-based structures). The experience in Ayacucho, which concluded in 2001, provided the opportunity to apply the so-called “improved adobe technique” (i.e. structural reinforcement of mud buildings), as well as to install community water supply systems. The reconstruction work in Moquegua and Tacna, completed in 2003, was based on the organisation of workshops geared towards encouraging the participation of women in the use of various housing construction technologies and providing the facilities for them to adapt such technologies to traditional architecture.

This article highlights the ITDG approach and experiences to post-disaster reconstruction: the main activities carried out in preparation for and during the implementation of the projects, the lessons obtained during these experiences, and the monitoring and evaluation procedures recommended for future reconstruction projects.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction of social and economic infrastructure in a post-conflict environment are complex, long-debated issues in development cooperation. In addition to war creating large-scale human suffering, generating refugees, displacing populations, engendering psychological distress, obliterating infrastructure and transforming the economy, in post-conflict situations, deepening chaos and disorder can be found at the highest social, economic and political levels; serious developmental challenges remain insufficiently addressed. Repairing war-damaged infrastructure in order to reactivate the local economy is a challenge for all post-conflict countries. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study was designed to examine planning and execution of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR). The use of a mixed-method research approach combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection was used to explore planning and implementation of PCR infrastructure projects in Kosovo. The data collection in the field was undertaken for a period of eight weeks, from July to September 2008. A total of 420 respondents were involved in the study process, as follows: key informants (four), pilot test (12), semi-structured interviews (36), project manager/engineers survey (231), chief of mission/country director survey (117), and focus group (20). To meet the needs of the society and recognise the required functional components of project management, the overall contexts of managing projects in a post-conflict environment have been discussed in the study.

Planning and implementing reconstruction projects in areas affected by conflict have proven to be far more challenging than expected and responses by practitioners, aid agencies, and government regarded as inadequate. The changing political, economic, and social factors in Kosovo after the war in 1999 have had a significant influence on the limited adoption of a project management methodology in development and reconstruction projects. The findings from the exploratory study were aimed at improving understanding of the planning, pre-designing, and implementation of infrastructure projects. The findings indicated a need to promote a better understanding of how projects are undertaken at all levels of the organisation, and to describe processes, procedures, and tools used for the actual application of projects. The findings of the study identified a poor quality of planning and implementation of reconstruction projects in an environment of complexity, change, and uncertainty. The study also raised some very significant findings for a broader approach to community involvement in project identification, planning, and implementation. Infrastructure projects implemented in Kosovo were used to develop a conceptual framework for designing projects and programmes more likely to yield positive outcomes for post-conflict society.

The study was done by the researcher in Kosovo.

We consider what happened in the initial reconstruction interventions following the 6 April 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy). Using the disaster risk reduction and resilience paradigm, we discuss the cognitive and interactional failures of top-down approaches, and we analyse the main constraints to enacting inclusive social learning and socially-sustainable transformation and building back better more resilient communities in post-disaster reconstruction.

Our evidence comes from participant observation, action anthropology and analytic auto-ethnography conducted during the reconstruction phase following the L'Aquila earthquake. Findings were triangulated with document analysis, media analysis and retrospective interviewing conducted in 2013 and 2017.

The shift from civil defence to civil protection did not bring any advance in disaster management and development practice in terms of DRR and resilience. The militaristic command-and-control approach, which is still in vogue among civil protection systems, means that local political leaders become the civil protection authorities in a disaster area. As in the L'Aquila case, this exacerbates local social and environmental risks and impacts, inhibits local communities from learning and restricts them from participating in post-disaster interventions.

Most previous commentary on disaster recovery and reconstruction following the L'Aquila earthquake has focussed on the top-down approach carried out by the national government and the Italian Department of Civil Protection (DCP). This paper is unique in that it sheds light on how the command-and-control approach was also implemented by local authority figures and on how this undermined building back better more resilient communities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the literature on resilience factors applied to post-disaster reconstruction projects and to develop a guiding framework to assist in their strategic selection and application.

A systematic review was undertaken on the literature’s account in four major bibliographic databases to elicit resilience factors contributing to improving post-disaster reconstruction projects' robustness. Through summative content analysis and open-coding of research outputs over the past decade, the factors identified informed the development of a conceptual framework that can significantly impact the built environment’s resilience development process.

The review found 24 resilience factors open-coded into five criteria groups: governance, innovations, reconstruction approaches, resource management and stakeholder expectations. While these factors have influenced reconstruction projects, the recently increased participation of clients and end-users in construction management accentuates their strategic selection and applications.

The research focused on English language articles; therefore, any claim to a comprehensive resilience factors listing can be amiss. The framework provides a platform for developing clear measurement indicators for allocating project resources and determining resilience deficiencies.

Results confirm the designs and assessment of a resilient built environment extends beyond the traditional structural characteristics, but includes the ability of the integrated network of buildings and infrastructure to support the continuous delivery of the community’s social and economic services in normal and post-disaster settings.

The review is very specific as it attempts to develop a novel conceptual framework for guiding developers and practitioners in the application of resiliency to post-disaster reconstruction projects.

Planning and implementing reconstruction projects in areas that are affected by conflict has proven to be far more challenging than expected and has often been considered to be inappropriate response from practitioners, aid agencies and government. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore reconstruction and development projects in Kosovo given its history of non-sovereign state under United Nations administration and analyse how they were planned and executed that would more likely yield progressive outcomes for the society.

The study was designed to explore how projects are planned and implemented, as well as help in understanding the phenomena in the historical, social, cultural and governance context within the project implementation practices of multilateral agencies in Kosovo. Applying action research principles and using a detailed case study approach to the interviews, the study identified programme strengths, weaknesses and implications of project management practice and theory and differences of opinion within the project team in project planning and implementation in their wider sense.

There is evidence that both aid organisations’ constructed project management processes and international aid agencies practices do not work effectively in a community service delivery setting. The study showed that there continue to be challenges in project processes, implementation, stakeholder coordination, communication, cost, quality, procurement and risk management.

Forward looking and grounded in traditions, the study indicated a need to promote a better understanding of how reconstruction and development projects are undertaken at all levels of the organisation and to describe processes, procedures and tools used for the actual application of projects in war-torn societies.

The study is among the first academic research worldwide to examine traditional practices of project management which are wildly applied and to explore if the same processes can be applied in post-conflict settings. This study is timely and beneficial in fulfilling its responsibility to post-conflict communities.

This study aims to yield significant insight into decentralized Disaster Governance (DG), explaining the passage from selecting actors and defining actions to determining outcomes in a decentralized process.

We adopt the systems thinking approach to investigate the reconstruction program after the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. In-depth interviews are our main source of data that are carefully triangulated with findings from the review of documents and our direct observations.

We detected many shortcomings in this program, among which incomplete decentralization is highly prominent. In the Bam recovery program, tasks were delegated to varied actors based on their capacities without considering potential conflicts of interests and their unbalanced authority to serve their benefits. Meanwhile, the impact of the country's unstable political climate on restricting or liberating actors' influence on the recovery program was overlooked. These split relationships between DG components finally obstructed decentralization by intensifying conflicts of interest, which eventually compromised recovery objectives.

The results reveal the importance of adopting mechanisms to ensure monitoring systems' and governments' neutrality and limit any political influence over the outcomes.

DG concept is relatively new in disaster literature and despite its advancement in the last two decades, many studies still contribute to the epistemology of DG and its assessment methodology. However, the relationship between DG's components remains still obscure. This study tries to bridge this gap and make the concept more practical.

The purpose of this paper is to understand and define the concept of Building Back Better (BBB) and represent it using a comprehensive framework.

Literature related to the concept of BBB were studied to understand the key concepts which constitute BBB. These concepts were analysed and categorised to form the basis of the proposed BBB framework.

Post-disaster recovery in-line with BBB concepts can be achieved by having a holistic view of four key categories: risk reduction entails improving the resilience of the built environment through improvement of structural designs and land-use planning; community recovery includes addressing and supporting psycho-social recovery of communities and supporting economic rejuvenation; implementation addresses ways in which risk reduction and community recovery practices can be put in place in an efficient and effective way; monitoring and evaluation stretches across the first three categories, and calls for putting in place mechanisms to monitor and evaluate recovery activities to ensure compliance with BBB-based concepts and obtain lessons to improve future disaster management practices.

The BBB Framework generated in this study can be used as a foundation to determine best-practice recommendations to implement recovery activities under each of the BBB categories.

The BBB Framework forms a guideline to holistically plan and implement recovery programmes in order to BBB.

A comprehensive guideline or framework which clarified what BBB really means is currently inexistent. This paper addressed this research gap by amalgamating existing information to create a singular framework to simply and comprehensively represent BBB.