Post-disaster Reconstruction Projects Workshop

The projects by which problems are addressed following a disaster require input by professionals from multiple fields—including project management, engineering, and architecture. We would like to invite you to an in-person workshop that aims to bring together researchers from the School of Civil Engineering to create potential collaborations and begin to outline papers and research proposals on these projects.

We will be joined by Dr Zehra Gungordu – an urban planning academic based at the University in Hatay and a victim of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake disaster which killed over 40,000 people, led to the collapse of critical infrastructure and thousands of buildings in 11 provinces. (Hatay region was one of the worst impacted areas). Zehra is the Chamber of Urban Planners Hatay Province Deputy Director, a member of Hatay Nature Preservation Science Committee and TEMA (Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion) foundation Hatay representative. After the earthquake she established a local social collective, lobbying for their property rights and having a voice in the post-disaster reconstruction projects aimed at Kırıkhan (a municipality in Hatay). EPS international mobility fund has kindly covered Zehra’s visit to our university for a month.

Session A – Introduction

Keynote from Zehra Gungordu on the post-disaster reconstruction projects aimed at Kırıkhan. She will explain what happened, the goals of these projects and the key issues that require attention.

Session B – Group discussion

The group discussion will examine the following questions:

1. How can solutions be developed that cater for competing values & interests (e.g., community members wanting a brand-new home vs. wanting to retain existing property, accelerated delivery vs. aesthetic design) within a short timeframe?
2. Is it possible to retain the buildings that have minimal or medium damage in a way that is sustainable? How can earthquake engineering solutions provide support?
3. How can these projects contribute to the development of a resilient built environment in the city of Hatay?

Session C - Feedback from the group discussion, next steps

We hope to see you at this workshop.

Dicle Kortantamer & Zehra Gungordu