Reconstruction after disaster for the quality of life

The purpose of this event is to initiate a formal discourse on post-disaster recovery and reconstruction at the national, regional, and local administrative levels. This includes restoring infrastructure, providing housing for those who lost their homes, and implementing measures to reduce the vulnerability of affected areas.
Our contemporary world faces an increasing risk of negative impacts from disasters that affect communities and spaces such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, tsunamis, volcanic activity, wildfires etc. These disasters result from the interaction of natural and human activities. Nowadays, the distinction between natural, human-induced and human-accelerated disasters is becoming increasingly blurred. They can be worsened in many ways by uncontrolled urbanization, low quality of construction, overexploitation of resources etc. The growth of the global population and its concentration in vulnerable locations have led to a rise in both the frequency and intensity of disasters. Extreme climates and unstable landforms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth, proliferation of non-engineered or illegal constructions create more vulnerable interfaces of populated areas especially in disaster-prone spaces.
This event aims to stimulate a discussion on the strategies and actions that can be implemented in disaster-affected regions. The introductory presentation will provide an overview of the renewal and reconstruction efforts following two significant earthquakes that struck Croatia in March and December 2020. It will be followed by presentations by the City of Zagreb on the measures, activities, and investments undertaken in the most affected urban areas of the Croatian capital, with a focus on the restoration of cultural heritage. The event will also feature case studies on the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey in February 2023 and the severe floods in Slovenia in August 2023. Turkey was hit by two disastrous earthquakes in February 2023 which resulted in destroyed cities, thousands of dead and injured people and overall crisis. Slovenian case study will be focussed on the reconstruction after severe floods that hit their territory causing significant damage on infrastructure and activating many landslides on forest and agricultural land.
These case studies will serve as a basis for a formal discussion on the existential, social, and economic aspects of disaster recovery, the allocation of financial resources, and the implementation of preventive measures to create more resilient and sustainable cities.
Draft agenda:
• Reconstruction after the earthquake as an opportunity - Croatia
• Floods and after them? - Slovenia
• Creating Future Cities with Post Disaster Experiences - Turkey
• Building-back-better Zagreb, Croatia
Discussion