**1. Introduction**

In many disasters, housing loss is the second major concern, coming soon after casualties. Simultaneously, climate change is a global reality [1] and requires adaptations of the built-up environment to adverse climate scenarios, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

In the disaster recovery phase, rescue and relief activities are conducted relatively quickly. Nevertheless, the pace is much slower in the recovery phase, and problems drag on for years after the media have withdrawn [2].

It must be highlighted that, from an economic viewpoint, the loss of a home may represent more than family savings over a generation time. The loss of housing can also significantly increase the degree of vulnerability of those affected, with consequences for the loss of livelihoods, deteriorating physical and mental health conditions, unsafe environment for study and education, and family breakdown.

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Recovery Platform (IRP) [3], each house built represents an

**76**

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**References**

individual project, and grouping together hundreds, thousands, and even millions of homes constitutes much broader reconstruction programmes. From this perspective, it should be considered that recovery needs to be approached from two aspects: collective solutions and individual solutions that reflect each family's needs and provide specific recovery routes that take into account the peculiarities of each nucleus.

Housing provision should be understood as a process (and not merely providing a product) that should involve the people stricken by the disaster and the communities directly or indirectly affected by the situation [4]. According to UNDP and IRP [3], victims who can immediately begin their reconstruction effort will want to do so as soon as possible. Although the impact that a speedy start to recovery has on morale, those responsible for planning must ensure that the earlier vulnerabilities are not repeated. The authors also claim that in areas where immediate work is possible, there is less dependence on temporary housing, and victims feel that recovery is progressing. On the other hand, Leykin et al. [5] pinpoint three aspects that contribute directly to the resilience of a community in emergencies: preparation, leadership and collective effectiveness. Barakat [6] indicates that joint reconstruction must be carefully organised and managed, requiring managerial and technical expertise by the agencies involved in the implementation.

Concerning technical aspects, Marcial Blondet comments that in developing countries most people live in non-engineered low-rise constructions made of inferior materials, thus making them more vulnerable [7]. Considering the issues related to post-disaster reconstruction, Yi and Yang [8] mention that research efforts in developing countries in Asia and South America are far behind those in developed countries, and Africa is rarely addressed.

This chapter introduces Simple Housing Solution (SHS), a methodology designed to facilitate the reconstruction process in critical situations, and necessary for recovery with few resources (i.e., post-disaster, post-conflict, relocation from risk areas, refugee settlements). It was conceived with the philosophy of gathering basic knowledge that can help build housing units and essential collective equipment (schools, health clinics), in a joint effort (community labour system), by adopting low-cost constructive technologies. The idea is to help local governments, support agencies and, above all, vulnerable communities to better organise the process for the recovery of tens, hundreds or thousands of families with the guidance of skilled technical assistants.
