Effects of February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes on Housing Preferences vis-à-vis Sociology of Disasters

Abstract

On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes occurred in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. This study analyzes the transformations in housing preferences of the earthquake victims. Accordingly, 30 earthquake victims who were in Adana, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya during the earthquakes were reached via snowball sampling, and then semistructured interviews were conducted with them. After transcribing the interviews, the software ATLAS.ti 9 was used to identify the five themes of the study: 1) preferences shifting from vertical to horizontal housing, 2) preferences shifting from comfort-oriented options to those with safety, 3) preferences shifting from urban to rural areas, 4) rising demand for buildings complying with the earthquake legislation, and 5) reasons for not leaving the earthquake zone because of economic or family reasons despite lack of trust in the building/area. The findings revealed that safety needs were prioritized over other needs, supporting Maslow’s theory of hierarchical structuring of needs. This study might make a general contribution to the field of sociology of disasters and guide development of public policies postdisaster.

Keywords

• Sociology of disasters
• Urban sociology
• Kahramanmaraş earthquakes
• Housing preferences

References

1. Akgüngör, A. Ç. (2010). Toplumbilim perspektifinden afeti düşünmek. LAÜ Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1 (1), 3-22. google scholar
2. Akyıldız, N. A. (2020). Evaluation of public tender law changes in Turkey in context of economic sustainability. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 8(5), 18-28. google scholar
3. Alkın, R. C. (2020). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de afet sosyolojisi: Afetlerin sosyolojideki yerine ilişkin bir literatür taraması. In İ. Can (Ed.), Afet Sosyolojisi. (pp. 63-81). Konya: Çizgi Kitabevi. google scholar
4. Anadolu Ajansı. (2023). AFAD duyurdu: 6 il daha afet bölgesi ilan edildi. Retrieved from https://www.karar.com/guncel-haberler/son-dakika-afad-duyurdu-6-il-daha-afet-bolgesiilan-edildi-1739610 on June 1, 2023. google scholar
5. Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). (2000). Post-earthquake housing issue paper B: Time needed to repair or replace uninhabitable housing following the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes. In Preventing the Nightmare: Post-earthquake Housing Issue Papers. Oakland, CA: ABAG. google scholar
6. Aysan, Y. (1987). Homeless in 42 m2. Open House International, 12(3), 21-26. google scholar
7. Bıçkı, D., & Kırkan, M. (2022). The issue of ‘horizontal architecture’ in Turkey from the perspective of Turgut Cansever, the wise architect. Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 65, 289-311. google scholar
8. Bozkurt, V. (2023). Depremin toplumsal boyutu. Avrasya Dosyası Dergisi, 14(1), 89-111. google scholar

9. Can, İ. (2020). Kavramsal ve kuramsal açıdan afet sosyolojisi. In İ. Can (Ed.), Afet Sosyolojisi. (pp. 15-36). Konya: Çizgi Kitabevi. google scholar
10. Comerio, M. C. (2013). Housing recovery in Chile: A qualitative mid-program review. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Center. google scholar
11. Cronberg, T. (1972). Human requirements for buildings. Performance concept in building. National Bureou of Standarts Special Publication, 361 (1), 13-22. google scholar
12. Dattalo, P. (2008). Determining sample size. New York: Oxford University Press. google scholar
13. Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2005). Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. google scholar
14. Drabek, T. E. (2017). Sociology of disaster. In K. O. Korgen (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology Volume 2. (pp. 139-147). New Jersey: Cambridge University Press. google scholar
15. Ekinci, O. (2000). Prefabrikede insanı unuttular! Rant demokrasisi çöktü: Deprem yazıları. İstanbul: Anahtar Kitabevi. google scholar
16. Fallahi, A. (2007). Lessons learned from the housing reconstruction following the Bam earthquake in Iran. The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 22(1), 26-35. google scholar
17. Fırat, M. (2020). Doğal ve toplumsal bir afet olarak deprem. In İ. Can (Ed.), Afet Sosyolojisi. (pp. 167-181). Konya: Çizgi Kitabevi. google scholar
18. Fritz, C. E. (1961). Disasters. In R. K. Merton, & R. A. Nisbet (Eds.), Contemporary Social Problems. (pp. 651-694). New York: Harcourt. google scholar
19. Gür, Ö. (1996). Mekân örgütlenmesi. Trabzon: Gür Yayıncılık. google scholar
20. Habitat. (1994). International workshop on: Human settlement and environment, strategies for action in the continuum from relief to development, 25-27 April 1994, Nairobi, Kenya, United Nations Centre for Human Settlement, United Nations Environment Programme (Workshop Document). google scholar
21. Hamideh, S., Peacock, W. G., & Zandt, S. V. (2018). Housing recovery after disasters: Primary versus seasonal/vacation housing markets in coastal communities. Iowa State University Digital Repository. google scholar
22. Kıray, M. (2005). Tüketim normları üzerine karşılaştırmalı bir araştırma. İstanbul: Bağlam Yayıncılık. google scholar
23. Kıyan, Ş. (2013). Kimlik ve tüketim ilişkisini tersinden düşünmek: Lüks ürünlerin taklitleri ile kimlik oluşturma. Tüketici ve Tüketim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 5(1), 53-78. google scholar
24. Kronenburg, R. (1995). Houses in motion: The genesis, history and development of the portable building. London: Academy Editions. google scholar
25. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. doi.org/10.1037/h0054346. google scholar
26. Peek, L., Wachtendorf, T., & Meyer, M. A. (2021). Sociology of disasters. In B. S. Caniglia, A. Jorgenson, S. A. Malin, L. Peek, D. N. Pellow, & X. Huang (Eds.), Handbook of Environmental Sociology. (pp. 219-241). Switzerland: Springer. google scholar
27. Prince, S. H. (1920). Catastrophe and social change: Based upon a sociological study of the Halifax disaster (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University). Columbia University Press. google scholar
28. Quarantelli, E. L. (1954). The nature and conditions of panic. American Journal of Sociology, 60, 267-275. google scholar
29. Quarantelli, E. L. (1960). Images of withdrawal behavior in disasters: Some basic misconceptions. Social Problems, 8, Summer, 68-79. google scholar
30. Shanas, E. (1979). Social myth as hypothesis: The case of the family relations of old people. The Gerontologist, 19(1), 3-9. google scholar
31. Shelter. (n.d.). History and evolution. Retrieved from http://sheltertwc.weebly.com/history-and-evolution.html on June 1, 2023. google scholar
32. UNDRR. (2023). Terminology. Retrieved from http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology on June 6, 2023. google scholar
33. Yüksel, B., & Hasırcı, D. (2012). An analysis of physical and psychological expectations of earthquake victims from temporary shelters: A design proposal. METU JFA, 29(1), 225-240. google scholar