Capacity building lessons from a decade of transitional settlement and shelter

This paper examines 23 recent case studies of post-disaster settlement and shelter across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to provide examples of implementing transitional settlement and shelter as a process and how to build more capacity for such programmes. The case studies are examined by using a four-part framework: (i) Safety, security, and livelihoods; (ii) the question “Transition to what?” in order to understand better how to connect post-disaster programmes to permanent communities and housing; (iii) fairness and equity; and (iv) connecting relief and development, which also explores root causes of vulnerability. The main lessons identify six specific activities that should be highlighted for capacity building in transitional settlement and shelter: site selection, good governance, participatory and consultative processes, land ownership, logistics, and monitoring and evaluation.