Housing reconstruction of disaster victims in the designated temporary housing system

analyzing living environment aimed at smooth transition to permanent residences

Abstract

Approximately 136,000 temporary housings were provided in the Great East Japan Earthquake. Half of them were designated temporary housings. They played important roles of avoiding prolonged evacuation and cutting public funds. It was revealed that disaster victims had independently achieved life restoration based on their proactive choices in acquiring permanent housings. Meanwhile, local governments had experienced confusion due to lack of precedent operational knowledge. The system was implemented as part of providing temporary housing based on the Disaster Relief Act. However, it was limited to operate within the framework of the law. A new system is required for future disasters.