Document Type : Original Article
Author
Assistant Professor, Planning and Design settlements Department,School of Architecture and Urban Studies, Shahid Beheshti University
Abstract
Natural disasters, such as the 2003 Bam earthquake, affect person-place bonds, particularly peoples’ place attachment. Many of post-earthquake reconstruction projects have been carried out based on a mainly physical approach to provide shelters with little consideration for the emotional bonds between persons-places. Recent sociological studies in Bam indicate neither residents' satisfaction with their new built environment has been achieved, nor the mental issues of grief and disruption in attachment to their settlement in Bam post-earthquake reconstruction have come to the end. It seems that, the development of an appropriate urban design theoretical frameworks is needed to identify the necessary concepts for re-establishing "place attachment" in the reconstruction process. These concepts help fostering the survivors' affection with their environment and eventually enhance the environmental quality. Four years past the completion of reconstruction process, Bam reconstruction experience has provided an opportunity to identify the effective components involved in re-establishing "neighborhood attachment" based on understanding and interpretation of the residents’ views. This paper intends to propose a theory to explain the residents’ understandings and evaluations of the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts. The research methodology is a qualitative one and the "grounded theory" method, based on Strauss & Corbin (1998), is adopted to build a theory. In other words, the theory is not built through hypothesis testing, but is a data-driven entity based on field study. The data collection is conducted through semi-structured interviews and the Bam’s document reviews; where 45 people aged 25-65 years old living in Emamzade Zeyd and Ghasre Hamid neighborhoods were interviewed in depth. These participants were selected via snowball sampling method to have theoretical saturation. The findings show that in post-earthquake reconstructions: "place attachment" re-establishment at neighborhood scale is in line with and a subsequent to "home" attachment and "city" attachment. Moreover, re-establishing neighborhood attachment, as returning to the past, is explained through a theory comprising three sets of categories, i.e. "conditional categories,” "interactive categories,” and "consequential categories". This phenomenon is derived from the "neighborhood bond to Arg and Nakhlestan", "home as survival point", "life facilitation," and "social bonds." The residents' reactions include the sense of "life continuity", "memory-making” and "self-expression” in the neighborhoods. The consequence of this affective bond has a dual function. On one hand, it has led to "nostalgia" and "hope for life" and on the other hand, "non-acceptance" of the reconstructed home forms and relationship restriction with non-local residents are considered as the negative consequences. This built theory confirms the importance of "place identity" and "place dependence" as the "place attachment” components, although socio-demographic indicators played little role in the theory due to the qualitative character of the research. This study emphasizes the importance of re-establishing "place attachment" in reconstruction policy-making and planning. That is to say, high-quality reconstruction of the homes, settlements, and the main city elements inspired by the past should be the first priority and then, "life facilitating" and “reinforcing social networks" is recommended to be considered in future planning. Furthermore, “revitalizing past memories” and "hope to the future" can also result in a deeper bond among the residents in their neighborhoods.
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