Modular Post-Disaster Temporary Settlements in Türkiye: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Conceptual Proposals and Field Practices

Abstract

This study examines selected studies on post-disaster temporary settlements in Türkiye through a multi-criteria qualitative comparative framework. It addresses a gap in the literature by reading conceptual proposals and documented field practices within a common analytical structure rather than treating design potential and implementation conditions separately. Five peer-reviewed studies that directly address spatial organisation, design, flexibility, or implementation in the Turkish context were evaluated across environmental adaptation, technical performance and construction, environmental sustainability, and economic and social dimensions. Flexibility was operationalised through transformability/modularity, portability, scalability, and adaptability to changing user needs. The findings indicate a tension rather than a simple hierarchy between the two groups: conceptual proposals emphasise anticipated adaptability, environmental performance, and long-term habitability, whereas field applications reveal the operational priorities and constraints of rapid emergency deployment. Because three cases are conceptual proposals and two are implemented applications, and because four of the five studies concern earthquakes, the findings are interpreted as exploratory rather than nationally generalisable. The study therefore proposes the multi-criteria framework as an analytical basis for examining how immediate emergency-response requirements and longer-term habitability needs can be considered together in future research and practice.

Keywords

• Post-disaster housing
• Temporary settlements
• Architectural flexibility
• Multi-criteria evaluation
• Transitional shelter
• Long-term habitability

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was not required because this study did not involve human participants or animals.

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