Era Nopera Rauzi, Katharine Bartsch, Ehsan Sharifi
Earthquakes and tsunamis accounted for 58% of deaths worldwide between 2000 and 2019. Given the ongoing threat of natural disasters and extreme climate events, the need for community readiness and resilience is urgent. Numerous operators are involved in post-disaster reconstruction efforts requiring a coordinated, adaptive, and human-centred approach. Despite community involvement being widely anchored in recovery, mobilised community processes remain fragmented, especially in architecture. This paper aims to examine the mechanisms that facilitate community engagement in the post-disaster recovery process. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is employed to map relationships between key actors, including the affected communities, institutions, community leaders, and architects in five sites following significant disasters: Aceh (2004), New Orleans (2005), Port-au-Prince (2010), Constitución (2010), and Tohoku (2011). Focusing on actor-network mapping, this study investigates how architectural design interventions were facilitated by local leadership in tandem with institutional support. The comparative analysis of these examples highlights that community engagement significantly determines recovery outcomes, even though the government manages funding and aid. While this paper makes no claim to be exhaustive, this analysis will highlight the governance mechanisms that can empower community agency and build community resilience in vulnerable regions. © 2025, The Architectural Science Association and The University of Melbourne, Australia.
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
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