Addressing housing needs in minimising the problems of post conflict housing reconstruction

Depleted human and social capital, displacement of people, destruction of property, weakened
institutions and ruined economy are some of the legacies of conflicts. Within this context, post
conflict reconstruction contributes to overcome the legacies of conflict through reactivating the
development process that has been disrupted by the conflict. Among the post conflict reconstruction
interventions, post conflict housing reconstruction is paramount important as it contributes to
development and peace through restoring the economic and social life of conflict affected people.
Despite the importance, the success of post conflict housing reconstruction is hindered by a number
of problems such as lack of strategies to address the unique challenges faced by vulnerable
households, lack of involvement of local people, lack of use of local building material and
technology, lack of local economic development, lack of community linkages, lack of cultural and
local consideration, overlooked socio-economic conditions of occupants, standardised housing
models, housing models imported from different cultures, lack of beneficiary consultation, poor
performance of agencies, bribery and corruptions and lack of post occupancy evaluation. If not
properly managed, these issues lead to hinder the success of post conflict housing reconstruction and
its contribution to the development and peace. This paper argues that lack of concern on housing
needs has directly or indirectly given rise for most of these issues through a comprehensive literature
review on post conflict housing reconstruction and housing needs. The paper establishes the link
between the problems of housing reconstruction and lack of addressing housing needs. Accordingly,
it concludes that adequate housing measures provide a general guideline in addressing housing needs
and addressing such needs leads to minimise the problems of post conflict housing reconstruction.