Determining Universal Risks in the Sustainability of Post-Earthquake Temporary Housing

Abstract

Post-earthquake temporary housing (PETH) is critical to disaster recovery but is prone to sustainability threats. This study systematically identifies and categorizes 24 universal risks of PETH, based on a PRISMA-guided systematic literature analysis (n = 23) of peer reviewed articles indexed in the Web of Science (WoS). The emerging risks are grouped into four thematic sets: environmental, economic, social, and operational. Results show that economic risks, e.g., Lack of Cost-Effectiveness (EC4), Low Potential for Reuse of Temporary Structures (EC5), are the most widely reported in 12 countries, indicating their relevance worldwide. This study presents a new cross-national risk-matrix conceptualization that integrates diverse findings. It serves as a reminder to move from short-term technical fixes to long-term strategic and sustainability-oriented post-disaster housing solutions. The presented framework may enable policymakers, designers, and disaster response actors to successfully reduce long-term vulnerabilities and increase the resilience of housing responses to future disasters. In the end, it offers a framework that can be used globally to aid evidence-based planning and policy-making in disaster-prone areas.