Housing & Hazards

Implementing Hazard -Resistant Housing

Dhaka , December 1996

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1st Conference,  1996

Supported by British High Commission, Dhaka

The International Workshop on Housing & Hazards held in Bangladesh recommends that the following actions should be taken to promote safe building practice among low-income households :

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.         (a)  Establish a Working Group headed by a building-related professional to coordinate all activities in low-income housing in respect of design, construction and implementation, relevant to safety against hazards.  Coordination should cover government agencies, academic and research institutions, agencies involved in providing credit for house building, manufacturers of building materials, NGOs and private firms.

(b)  Establish a sub-group under the above Working Group to review all “Building for Safety” manuals relevant to Bangladesh, prepare recommendations and, to promote wider dissemination, translate these into Bangla.  This sub-group should include engineers, architects, community development workers and officers from relevant government agencies.

To make it comprehensible to the community leaders and building workers, the publication should use pictorial language.

In addition to printed documents, advantage should be taken of audio-visual media like video-cassettes and film strips.

2.         Funds may be sought from international funding agencies like UN organisations, World Bank, ADB and IDB for carrying out the above activities.

3.         Measures for “Building for Safety” should be integral parts of general disaster preparedness programmes.

4.        “Building for Safety” projects could be promoted through existing government departments which deal with the maintenance of government offices, schools, clinics and similar community structures.  These buildings should set examples of good practice and provide opportunities for training tradesmen and householders.

5.         There should be a pilot project to train architects, engineers, builders, craftsmen and householders in hazard-resistant construction.  This could build on the collective experience of “Building for Safety” programmes elsewhere.

6.         The publication “Building for Safety” should be circulated among all professonals involved in building low-income housing.

7.         The link between loans for poor families to enable them to secure safer dwellings is of utmost importance as has been demonstrated by Grameen Bank experience and should be promoted with a strong emphasis on hazard-resistant design and construction.

8.         The National Building Code should include special provisions for disabled/elderly persons.