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a r t i c l e in f o abstract
Article history: The focus of creating built environments without recognizing what is appropriate to a
Received 6 August 2012 particular settlement is a common and frequent failure in many post disaster development
Received in revised form projects. This paper has been developed to address the issues related to culture-space
22 March 2013
dynamics in post tsunami recovery process. Basing on the primary evidences from two fishing
Accepted 25 March 2013
villages in Tamilnadu, Southern India, this paper develops key directions for designing
Available online 10 April 2013
culturally responsive and resilient settlements in post disaster contexts in specific to Tamil
Keywords: fishing settlements. This study concludes by highlighting the importance of connectivity as a
Culture construct of cultural continuity that links approaches for designing built environments with a
Architecture
socio-spatial understanding of traditional settlements in post disaster reconstruction process.
Tsunami
Such suggestions can eventually inform the theory and practice about the methodological
Tamilnadu.
ways to develop further guidance for designers in the long run.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
n 1
Presently on extra ordinary leave: School of Planning and Architec- Tharangambadi, formerly known as Tranquebar and Chinnangudi
ture, Bhopal, India. Tel.: +46 92049 2149. are the fishing villages in Nagapattinam District, Tamilnadu, Southern
E-mail addresses: ram.pasupuleti@ltu.se, ramsateesh@rediffmail.com India. They were largely affected by the 2004 tsunami.
2212-4209/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2013.03.008
R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839 29
are craftsmen and laborers. Hence, it was easily acceptable establish a schematic framework, Leach [17] develops a
for them to get involved in construction training programs tentative theory of identification with space by bringing
and the reconstruction process which in turn has shown a three discreet theoretical models. They include narrati-
scope for enabling their livelihoods. In Tamilnadu case, vism, through which spaces are demarked by narratives;
most of the people are fishermen and fishing economy is performatives refers to the spatial practices, through
considered as primary base and therefore, people might which spaces are demarcated by certain groups by a kind
not have had shown particular interest in construction of social appropriation; and mirroring where sense of
activities. That is the reason many of the rebuilding identification with place can be developed and reinforced
programs in Tamilnadu have been constructed by external through repetitive performatives in other words habitual
contractors. Nevertheless, it is significant to note that in practices. From such theoretical aspects it can be under-
some recovery practices such as Tharangambadi, commu- stood that architecture offers a potential mechanism for
nities were engaged in choosing the design alternatives inscribing the self into the environment and how the
and decision process (in terms of allocation) and also narrative and performative discourses tend to give mean-
actively participated in the supervision of rebuilding ings to the spaces in the everyday life. These take place in
process. specific spatial and architectural layouts. However, such
Unlike the pre disaster situation from the Gujarat rural meanings are also subjected to change with the day-to-day
cases, various social housing programs have already been needs and modernistic visions and demands of the people
implemented by the government initiatives in some fish- in the disaster and development processes. Such transfor-
ing villages of Tamilnadu, prior to the 2004 tsunami. Such mation is reflected in the evolution of traditional dwellings
pre disaster housing initiatives in Tamilnadu may also bear and settlements in the disaster and development context.
influence in the transformation of fishing settlements. The The key role which choice (either tradition or modern)
image of many such fishing settlements is not to be seen plays has complex and contradicting implications for the
just as a vernacular setting where people have built their identity and construction process [7]. In a post disaster
own houses with local resources and skills, but it has to be context, this transformation does not only depend upon
imagined with the recently brought (pre disaster) con- development initiatives but to a large degree on the
tractor driven practices of building houses reflecting the cultural setting of the affected settlements, which in turn
aspirations of urban forms and character. For instance, in has an influence on the development initiatives [11,23,24].
Tharangambadi village, Meenavar (fishermen) colony has
been developed by uniform and standard housing models 2.1. Personalization is a natural response to cultural
prior to the tsunami disaster and villagers to some extent deficiencies in built environment:
were familiar with the impacts of such contractor driven
uniform and standardized housing practices. Despite of Pasupuletis [24] study is an effort to bring a new
having familiarity and living experiences with the pre- insight by arguing that cultural dimensions of the affected
viously contractor driven housing practices, communities communities are not effectively and sufficiently addressed
still have chosen to the similar approaches. This indicates in the current post disaster humanitarian and develop-
that there is not only communication gap between the ment processes. The analysis of his extensive primary
development professionals and beneficiaries, but also research that was conducted in the 2004 tsunami affected
knowledge gap on understanding the contexts of vulner- fishing villages in Tamilnadu India, has unfolded the
ability, culture, and development of fishing communities. specific vulnerable impacts on the traditional built envir-
onments and the reasons for such impacts and responses
2. Architecture and culture in post disaster contexts in the post tsunami reconstruction process. Following such
various impacts on the cultural environments of the
The discussion on vulnerability and development affected communities there has been a shift in the villagers
recognizes that whether in pre-disaster or post disaster habitual practices, which are performed in specific places
contexts, it follows that vulnerability gets transformed and the tsunami reconstruction process has shifted the
(either reduced or increased) with the nature of develop- location, practice, as certain activities are no longer possi-
ment performance and design inputs. Once a place has ble in the relocation context and hence has had an impact
been chosen or provided for the beneficiaries, the produc- on those rituals and daily practices. As a result, people
tion of an individual space begins [19]. Family, kinship and started extending their homes, and making encroach-
gender is a basic dimension in which an individual starts ments in the public spaces and in some instances com-
his journey to become a social individual in a geographic munities have initiated double house concept of living in
space. In the built environment context, Dovey [9] notes new houses and simultaneously using old locations for
that habitus as the aspect of human behavior that causes surviving their livelihood activities [23,24]. It is not for the
culture to happen and he considers [9, p. 285] that it is first time that such extensions and encroachments in
embodied in people as well as their physical environments the built environment have eventually taken place. Such
and subjected to constant change, but such revisions are instances are evident in different post disaster response
always based on social practices in time. Neil Leach [17, situations. It has been noticed from many scholarly works,
p. 298] tries to point out Dovey's [9] understanding on that reconstruction in Tamilnadu has led to demolition or
changing habitus and states that it did not address any deterioration of massive undamaged houses [3,24] and the
commonly accepted framework for exploring how people similar situations has been identified from Jigyasus [11]
make sense of space and relate to it. Therefore, in order to study from Marathwada region. Jigyasu [11] and Ripin
30 R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839
architectural layouts and building designs in developing produced and reproduced by them. Within an ethno-
culturally responsive environments. graphic paradigm, Whitehead [25] also opines that ethno-
On the other hand, Cassidy Jhonson [14, p. 22] empha- graphic inquiry should go beyond local communities and it
sizes the need for developing building codes referring to should address the issues related to the changing political
the priority action 4 of the Hyogo Framework for Action economy. Such socio-cultural and development contexts
which has been specified under Land use planning and bring multiple systems of meanings not only to the lives of
building codes stating: communities but also to the environments they live. As
this study is to investigate the relevance of such socio-
Encourage the revision of existing or the development cultural behaviors in the evolution and transformation of
of new building codes, standards, rehabilitation and their physical environments, hence apart from methods that
reconstruction practices at the national or local levels, are adopted from ethnographic studies, there is a need to
as appropriate, with the aim of making them more develop interdisciplinary methodologies which can help in
applicable in the local context, particularly in informal articulating the socially diverse spatial environments.
and marginal human settlements, and reinforce the It has been agreed by various scholarly experts that
capacity to implement, monitor and enforce such urban design, is a discipline which is both concerned with
codes, through a fostering disaster-resistant structures. the physical attributes of built form and with the processes
that produce that form [21]. Within the interdisciplinary
Such efforts for developing building codes are mainly
and collaborative nature of urban design there is an
focused on developing disaster resistant structures addres-
explicit aim to combine knowledge not only from many
sing the local context. However, there is little or no such
associated design professions but also more recently other
theoretical and practical guidance for the designers work-
non-design professions such as sociology, anthropology
ing in post disaster recovery processes that could help
and other related disciplines [18]. Considering the study
them to design culturally responsive and resilient built
context involving culture, design and vulnerability, it is
spaces, addressing the psychological implications for indi-
important to get a thorough understanding of meanings
vidual and collective identity, memory and history. Such
(existing, transforming ones, and those old meanings
concerns about the transformative role of space, culture
which might have disappeared) particularly religions,
and design of the disaster-affected settlements have led
family and social ones, for the communities concerned
the focus of this inquiry for informing the better ways for
and it is challenging to understand how such transforma-
designing culturally responsive built environments in post
tion of meanings are associated in the place making
disaster contexts.
process. Therefore, urban design qualities or principles
The central aim of this paper lies in two parallel phases
can be used to tease out the spatial elements in the
of discussion that goes hand in hand to provide guidance
analysis and assessment of built form in order to provide
for designing culturally responsive environments in post
a kind of benchmark as to whether the aims of creating
disaster contexts. Drawing from authors previous field-
sustainable places have been achieved or not. This frame-
work in the tsunami affected villages in Tamilnadu, South-
work is addressed in two dimensions. The first dimension
ern India, firstly, this paper explains on how the current
of the assessment looks on how the settlement form,
design practices in post tsunami recovery processes in
street layouts, arrangement of plots, and building designs
Tamilnadu have overlooked the transformative nature
have given scope for satisfying the changing needs of the
of vulnerability-culture-space, a triad phenomenon in
communities in the pre and post disaster development
the long run. Thus building on the primary evidences
processes. This is assessed using the relevant qualitative
that have addressed the issues related to socio-spatial
design principles based on the Bentley et al. [4] theory of
dynamics in post tsunami recovery process, this paper
responsive environments. Design principles include: Per-
develops key directions for designing culturally responsive
meability, Legibility, Visual Richness, Robustness, variety
and resilient settlements in post disaster contexts in
and choice and Personalization. However, due to the
specific to Tamilnadu fishing settlements. Such suggestions
complexity of socio-spatial relations and communities
can inform the theory and practice about the methodolo-
basic needs that cannot be taken for granted in the post
gical ways to develop further guidance for designers in
disaster development process, it is necessary to address
the long run. Therefore, in order to conduct inquiry on
both philosophical positions through the urban design
the cultural dimensions of the disaster affected settle-
analysis and social investigation. Therefore, the second
ments in a built environment context, an interdisciplinary
dimension of the assessment has adopted methods from
approach is developed as a part of authors previous work
cultural anthropology and this had then provided support
(see [23,24]) shifting towards a new design paradigm to
to the mixture of different research methods. Here the
understand the role of culture in post disaster develop-
constructs of culture, which were defined by Lim [18] has
ment processes.
been used to understand the socio-spatial relationship.
These include Geographic landscape and natural environ-
3. Brief about the interdisciplinary framework and the ment, Family and Kinship and Gender, Religion and Belief
research process systems, Economy, Social and Cultural interaction, Political
and institutional systems that influence the evolution of
Ethnographic inquiries from past literatures have traditional settlements.
looked in such socio-cultural contexts in which people However, the synthesis of these two philosophical fields
live their lives, as well as the meaning systems which are of inquiry has helped to derive a variety of appropriate
32 R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839
methods to conduct the fieldwork in the affected settle- and Sisu Nagar (noted as B)) were built on safe locations
ments. The methods include: direct and indirect observa- following the coastal regulations. These regulations were
tion, semi-structured interviews with community groups rarely followed in the pre tsunami context, but the new
and development professionals, photographic and video clusters were built one km or even more (half an hours
recording and mental maps. The above discussed concep- walking distance), away from the sea shore and the
tual framework has been applied to analyze variety of data old village center. Such an expansion has complicated
collected during the fieldwork. Fieldwork was conducted the access for local communities to sustain their daily
in two fishing settlements that include Kovalam village in livelihood necessities. The only way to access the family
Kanyakumari district and Tharangambadi in Nagapattinam members in old village or other clusters and to participate
district of Tamilnadu. in village activities is through the state highway that
The analysis and findings from the fieldwork will be passes along the village. Prior to the tsunami, everything
described as evidences from the day to day living practices and everyone was considerably near and dear. Previously
in fishing settlements and how design elements along the resources required for peoples cultural lives and
with their composition typologies for housing develop- livelihoods were rarely spread in geographical space. In
ment projects, have not sufficiently addressed the cultural the pre tsunami context, people have developed close
dimensions of beneficiaries. By considering the aim of the interactions with each other and become habituated to
paper, the following section has been structured with that geographic space over a period of time and they lived
further subsections, which each of them reflect a parti- on it making their access to the resources for living. It not
cular component for designing cultural responsive envir- only offered a structure in functional terms but also
onments in post disaster contexts. Then each aspect is created a structure of meaning to their lives. Now in this
discussed with the significance of the design principles, relocation context, the expanded and fragmented geogra-
supported with the evidence from the primary fieldwork, phical spaces possess a new character that has interrupted
and this whole discussion of the facts and context leads to their access to resources in many ways. As marked in
more general suggestions for designing culturally respon- Fig. 3, clusters D, C, and E due to their proximity to the old
sive environments. settlement and harbor, they have a better connectivity
with their socio-cultural and economic resources.
4. Evidence based ideas for designing culturally Similarly from Tharangambadi case, it is evident that
responsive settlements in post disaster contexts SIFFS have tried to relocate the fishing community as a
whole to a safe location rather than different clusters.
This main objective of this section is to discuss the Mental maps and semi-structured interviews have been
findings from the fieldwork from both Kovalam and taken with the local residents not only from the fishing
Thrangambadi cases, by following a spatial hierarchy. clusters, but also with other communities living in colonial
Firstly, it starts with the location, and then it critically and pre-colonial clusters (which were not damaged in the
articulates following from a broader focus i.e. the design of tsunami). Interestingly, such analysis from different meth-
housing cluster layouts, Public spaces, and landmarks and ods has indicated that social links and relationships are
to the building designs and its interior spaces. getting weakened after the relocation. Mental map analy-
sis has shown that change of pedestrian movement from
4.1. Location of the redevelopment areas Queens Street to the periphery of the village. Queens
Street as highlighted in Fig. 4 is one of the important
It is commonly observed that in many post disaster street that connects internally all the clusters in the village.
housing programs, starts with the discussion about the In the relocation context people hardly tend to access this
location issues. Very often due to land availability and internal street as children approaching to schools located
acquisition issues, many rebuilding projects have either in colonial areas is from peripheral main road (Kings Way).
separated the beneficiary communities into multiple Such change in pedestrian access also has direct and
neighborhood clusters in different directions. The same indirect impacts on the social relations within the neigh-
situation has taken place in Kovalam and Tharangambadi borhood communities of the village.
villages in Tamilnadu. It has been evident from Pasupuletis Secondly, the resulting distance from new housing
[24] study that this kind of relocation process depending on clusters to the sea does not allow fishermen to go fishing
the land availability has brought many impact situations in more than once per day; where previously they may have
the cultural lifestyles of the affected communities. Because, gone twice depending on the available catch. Such varia-
the fact about the land issues is obvious in recovery tion in the frequency of fishing trips has resulted in a
programs and however, as designers we need to see how lesser fish catch, which has had a direct impact on the
design elements and their composition be able to reduce fishing households income and the overall fishing econ-
the gap and further enhances the agglomeration of old and omy. Under such conditions, in Tharangambadi, people
new built characters and their communities. have started using motorbikes for attaining easy access to
For instance in Kovalam village (see Fig. 3) during the the sea shore and in Kovalam, church is planning to build a
post tsunami recovery process, relocation has physically canteen at the shore to serve food for the fishermen.
expanded a congested village through the addition of new From the above discussed evidences, it can be noticed
housing clusters following the Coastal Regulation Zone that changes in pedestrian access has created impacts in
(CRZ) notification. In that process, some of the relocated the social relationships, whereas in the case of Kovalam, it
clusters (D.C.Nagar phases 1 and 2 (noted as A in Fig. 3), is recognized that newly constructed housing clusters are
R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839 33
Fig. 3. Physical expansion of Kovalam layout after tsunami. Source: Edited from Pasupuleti [24]
located in a fragmented manner and all the clusters are not connect not only homes, but also their communities.
internally connected with a simple pedestrian access. Hence, it is recommended for the humanitarian shelter
However, such situations in humanitarian shelter practice practitioners to avoid fragmented communities as much as
inform that provision of a small pedestrian road connect- possible, and further to see the possibilities for creating a
ing different clusters of settlement would be able to pedestrian access that help in connecting various clusters.
34 R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839
Fig. 7. Street view with open verandas. Source: Edited from Pasupuleti
[24]
1. Streets with semi-open verandas as house fronts. but also the meanings and practices associated to the
2. Streets with closed verandas as house fronts. cultural beliefs and living practices.
3. Streets with front setbacks. Apart from the design of the streets and their elements
for public and private interaction, this study has noticed
that allocation process also has its stake in the evolution of
Streets in traditional fishing clusters are often seen such uniform characters. For instance, family relationships
composed either with open verandas as house fronts or and livelihood opportunities after the impact of tsunami
with streets with front setbacks. The veranda is the most has not been addressed in the rebuilding process. For
important spatial element that acts as an interface instance, a woman running a small shop in the relocated
between the semi-public or semi-private areas and the area of Tharangambadi, states that after the death of her
more private dwelling areas. This is a semi-open space husband in the tsunami incident, she has opened a small
either covered with tiles or thatch in order to provide shop in front of her house as part of survival strategy
more shade for the residents to organize their fishing (Fig. 10). In the present context of relocation the absence of
activities while socializing with neighbors and visitors. The family members in the neighborhood cluster made a
kitchen and toilets are usually detached in traditional significant impact in her daily life. It is now becoming
houses. The doors in the traditional settlement in Kovalam more difficult for her to run a shop and manage children
follow a particular style which is commonly observed in without her husband or other family members support.
the adjacent state of Kerala. The doors are usually com- Even though family members from other locations often
posed of two or four leafed doors. When a visitor comes to visit her house to look over her welfare, still she is
the house, women from inside the house open the top part managing to run her household with great emotional
of the door and talk to strangers or visitors to maintain difficulty. The distance from her family members creates
their privacy (Fig. 9). Therefore, such indigenous composi- difficulties in her everyday life.
tions of buildings have helped the fishing communities to In another case in Tharangambadi, it is significant to
construct their identities and accommodate their cultural note that families who were allocated in adjacent plots
needs in the long term. have modified their houses by making extensions both
In both the cases of reconstruction, it is observed that vertically and horizontally in a mutually shared process for
uniform and standardized dwelling units have framed a accommodating their extended family interests and repre-
standard character to the fishing streets. The character has sent their belonging as one single household even in the
shifted not only with regard to change in the built forms present situation (Fig. 11).
36 R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839
Fig. 10. Woman running a shop in front of her house. Source: Pasupuleti
[24]
5.2. Addressing the change in family and gender relations in landmarks that are associated with their past. In this study
post disaster contexts mental map exercises with local communities is one of the
useful methods to capture such legible images from minds
Family size and how family relations have been changed of people. Therefore, this study recommends the built
following the aftermath of the disaster should be taken into environment professionals working on shelter development
account while designing and allocation of dwelling units to projects in post disaster contexts to implement various
beneficiaries. In our earlier discussion we have noticed from kinds of mental maps methods for understanding the
different cases, how families suffer without their family legible images and meanings from the minds of commu-
members in the nearby location and at the same time it is nities. Such methods can reveal the underlying or hidden
also important to note how households those got their sense of meanings from the local communities, in which
dwellings adjacent to each other have eventually rebuilt case verbal interaction methods might not have helped
two houses as one single house. Such consideration of appropriately to understand.
family relationships will eventually determine the mutual In this study the methods of urban design appraisal
support arrangements and thus assure the family ties help to tease out the spatial elements of these practices
and affections in the post disaster reconstruction process. (e.g. mental maps, identification of the way in which space
This not only requires a through consideration of participa- is demarcated, segregated or appropriated). Such spatial
tory feedback information from beneficiaries, but mainly it elements were determined by these habitual practices of
is significant to see how such family information could be the communities explicitly reflect Leachs [17] ideas as
further mapped to determine the feasibilities to allocate the discussed in Section 2. Leachs [17] concepts are very
families in the settlements layouts and their dwellings in a useful in this research. People have defined the places
spatial context. Hence, Inquiry into family typology is one with certain activities such as the patterns of walking,
principal way to relate social and cultural forms to physical women carrying domestic activities for both livelihood
form in traditional settlements. and regular household purposes on street fronts and
verandahs, and constructing place in symbolic terms,
5.3. Addressing the livelihoods and the gender responsive which was analyzed in the fishing villages. Such appro-
spaces priation and demarcation of spaces can be referred to
Narrativism in Leachs theory. Christmas and other impor-
Proximity to Livelihood activities is one important tant religious rituals which are performed in specific
phenomenon that plays a role in the lives of beneficiaries places of interest, the tsunami reconstruction process has
those got relocated in the post disaster context. In the shifted in location, and practice and hence have had an
Tamil fishing lives context, it is noticed that certain impact on those rituals. Finally performance and mirror-
activities for sustaining livelihood is no more possible inghabitual repetition of performances has been dis-
with the new relocation context. The location and the cussed in relation to fishing and gender relations. The
uniform and standardized design forms of settlement whole study flags up the importance of connectivity as
layouts and buildings does not allow women to participate a construct of culture that links approaches for designing
in the livelihood activities as in previous situation they built environments with a socio-spatial understanding
were involved in domestic activities such as cutting and of traditional settlements in post disaster reconstruction
drying fish and preparing fish pickles. Hence, such domes- process.
tic activities should be taken into account while designing On the pedagogical level, the study demonstrates
the housing clusters and their gender usable spaces. For that the design profession and the services it offers
instance, some common spaces within the clusters or particularly in the field of architecture and urban
street would have enhanced the sense of cultural con- design can clearly extend to traditional settlements
tinuity where women can perform their fishing supported and other beneficiaries that fall outside of the normally
activities and such spaces would have offered better defined client domain. To do this requires the designer
flexibility in simultaneously carrying out their individual or architect and all others involved in the process to
household responsibilities. have the ability to recognize appropriate development
projects which can benefit from design solutions
5.4. Legible images in the public spaces, and landmarks will whether it is a project engaged in reconstruction of a
help in reinforcing sense of cultural continuity fishing settlement and its relevant infrastructure, and
other projects of relevance to the traditional settle-
As discussed in Section 4.3, this study opines that ment. This can only be done in close collaboration with
leaving empty spaces in between housing clusters had members of the traditional settlement and with a
often may not serve the purpose of public spaces that are means for understanding local culture and the multiple
meant for social interaction. It would have been better if identities involved in defining what development is
landmarks were built in appropriate public spaces reflect- and what culture was and how they are now. The study
ing the traditional architectural elements composed from emphasizes the values of both engaging and understanding
history and memories from the pas, which in a way would local knowledge among built environment professionals,
have further helped to address some sense of attachment development practitioners, reaffirming the relevance of the
with the old place. The efforts made by the church in relation between culture and space in the culture-
Kovalam to build a church bell tower in new locations also vulnerability-design-development equation in post disaster
tend to give new definitions to the new places with contexts.
R.S. Pasupuleti / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6 (2013) 2839 39