Establishing the Pre-requisites of Post-disaster Reconstruction in Rural Settlements (Case study: Estalakh-kouhVillage)

A major part of land in  Iran  is located on the high to very high seismic risk territory.  The recurring destruction and life-loss or human casualties in rural settlements are very often due to this natural phenomenon. Reconstruction of the demolished rural areas is performed under three different policies by the government: integration, relocation and in-site reconstruction. The Bonyade Maskane Enghelabe Eslami (the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution), as a responsible governmental organization, choses among these policies with due reference to the overall conditions. .In some cases the urgency and time shortage would lead to overlooking some financial, social and cultural considerations in the reconstruction process. It is generally accepted that relocation is not a favorable option among reconstruction policies. When adopted, this policy has been frequently unsuccessful rendering the choice an undesirable one. However, there has been reports of successful relocation projects which ended with satisfactory results, and the villages relocated after Manjil earthquake of 1990 have been an example of this case. In this study we are going to identify the reason behind this accomplishment, concentrating on the case of Estalakhkoh village. The hypothesis of our study is as follows: "relocation among reconstruction policies not only is not considered a negative option but if provided with needed prerequisites and provisions would lead to a higher level of liveliness and preserves the rural society". To prove our hypothesis some questions should be addressed including what are the characteristics of successful relocated rural societies? The method chosen in our study to address the questions was investigation of a relatively successful sample of relocation during long years of post-earthquake era. Through this case study an understanding of the prerequisites of a successful relocation may be achieved and the first steps for generalizing the results may be taken. This is a qualitative research reliant on extensive review of the related literature and documents, along with comprehensive and semi comprehensive interviews. Based on the analyzed data a theoretical framework as well as an accurate description of the present conditions of the settlement was completed. Our comprehensive studies revealed that relocation is not a favorable option among other options of reconstruction, but sometimes is inevitable and no other choice would be plausible for  the governmental authorities. On a general level, we can conclude that relocation is only accepted and successful when the new setting offers better amenities than the previous. In fact the successful cases of relocation may succeed in resuscitating the previous lifestyle, dynamics and identity of a damaged rural society in all physical and social aspects. Hence, knowing all aspects of a rural society would be vital for a good reconstruction endeavor. Also, improvement in public socio-economic and health level as well as higher participation of the local community in all stages of reconstruction  were the leading reasons for fairly well adaptation to the new location. These findings may be used as a recommended practice in similar conditions.