CHAPTER 2
Essential 6: Building Regulations and Land Use Planning
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Building and Planning Regulations that Facilitate Local Disaster Risk Reduction
Building and Planning Regulations that Impede Local Disaster Risk Reduction
• National mandates that give local governments responsibility for safe construction practices (while contributing technical expertise and resources to make and implement plans and enforce building regulations).
• Safe construction or secure land tenure is unaffordable or unobtainable by the poor.
• Recognition by local government of the needs of the poor and accountability to them. • Plans, codes and standards that are developed with and include the perspectives of businesses, residents and diverse communities. • Flexible regulatory frameworks that accommodate changing economies, environments and building densities. • Recognition of informal building processes and encouragement of safe building practices through education and advocacy.
• Inequalities in access to land or housing. • Forced evictions or reduced security with regard to tenure for inhabitants of informal settlements • Regulations that fail to take into account realities on the ground, where existing density in urban areas is ignored, where the construction of small dwellings or workspaces or the use of more affordable alternative building materials is prohibited.
See more in the 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), www.preventionweb.net/gar. Click on GAR-2011, Chapter 6.5.
Examples
Thailand: Upgrading Informal Settlements
The government of Thailand has launched an ambitious slum and squatter upgrading initiative. The Baan Mankong (secure housing) programme channels funds in the form of infrastructure subsidies and housing loans directly to community organisations of low-income inhabitants in informal settlements. The funding comes almost entirely from domestic resources—a combination of national government, local government and community contributions. Under this national programme, illegal settlements can obtain legal land tenure through a variety of means such as direct purchase from the landowner (supported by a government loan), negotiating a community lease, agreeing to move to another location provided by the government or agreeing with the landowner to move to part of the site they are occupying in return for tenure of that site (land sharing). For more information consult http://tinyurl.com/72p7375.