ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

Planning for the unplanned: local authority, NGOs and community effort for emergency shelter provision for IDPs in Mekelle city (Ethiopia)

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 13 | HOUSING AND SHELTER

Speakers

Dr Jacopo Galli (Iuav, University of Venice)Mr Samuel Bekele Jote (Mekelle University and Iuav, University of venice)

Description

Shelter need and response are unmet in most cases during emergency and post crisis (EPC) period due to the nature of calamity and poor planning practices. Planning practices are influenced by multi-actor logics that contribute to designing conflicting strategies both in horizontal and vertical terms.
Following two years of heavy war in Tigray (2020-22), a large number of IDPs have influxes to urban areas such as Mekelle in Tigray (Northern Ethiopia) to quest for temporary accommodation. Local government (municipality), NGOs, and communities are the main stakeholders in emergency shelter provision. To provide and achieve a quality shelter for IDPs during EPC, local government is asked to follow a pro-active planning approach, investing large proportion of its budget, mobilizing local communities and guiding NGOs. Adopting a pro-active approach is not always easy due to the rigidity of statutory planning, the conflictual nature of EPC and the resistance of the actors involved. Besides, due to more than 2 million IDP influx in Tigray, poor/reactive planning, and protracted nature of displacement hindered access to safe and dignified shelter.
The aim of this PhD research is to explore the planning approach to provide shelter for the unplanned war induced displacement. Case studies have been conducted based on mixed methodology (MM), collecting data through key informants, local authority officials, NGO shelter and settlement experts, ESNFI cluster coordinators. Non-structured interviews have been also conducted with IDPs and host communities besides a wide literature review on planning for unplanned man made and natural crisis. Results shows that planning practices during war and post war failed to provide safe, dignified and quality shelter for IDPs residing in the city. IDPs were living in collective centers, makeshift, camps and host families. Local and international NGOs with coordination of emergency shelter and non-food items (ESNFI) cluster has striving to fill the huge gap between shelter need and responses by proper stockholder mapping for resource allocation and contingency plan. However, IDPs and host communities less engagement in a pro-active planning process resulted in poor shelter conditions and a worrisome political-cultural detachment.

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