International Symposium on Rebuilding Communities after Displacement: Book of abstracts

Forced displacement is a major development challenge, not only a humanitarian concern. A surge in violent conflict, as well as increasing levels of disaster risk and environmental degradation driven by climate change, have displaced a lot of people around the world – both internally within their own countries and across borders. These displacement situations are becoming increasingly protracted, many lasting over 5 years. There is a need to develop more sustainable and efficient ways to support the integration of displaced as well as their host communities. There is also recognition that rebuilding displaced and host communities goes beyond addressing physical needs. It must also address socio-cultural, institutional, human capital, livelihood, and economic perspectives and promote social cohesion between displaced and host communities. There is now an emerging discourse on the role of the built environment, in a wider sense beyond the physical, in addressing these diverse needs.

This book brings together the abstracts presented, and details of side events and activities, at the International Symposium on Rebuilding Communities after Displacement, held virtually on 13 and 14 December 2021. The book includes over 50 abstracts by scholars and practitioners from around the world. Selected scientific papers will be considered for publication in the book volume on ‘Rebuilding Communities after Displacement’ edited by with Springer nature The symposium
is organised by the Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety, Lund University, Sweden; the Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK; the Centre for Sustainable Transitions (CST), University of Central Lancashire, UK; Building Lifecycle Research Group, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia; and the Social Policy Analysis and Research Centre (SPARC), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Symposium is organised in association with the REbuildinG AfteR Displacement (REGARD), an EU Erasmus+ project.

This high-level, international symposium aims to start and encourage debate and discussion on how a holistic approach to the built environment can help address some of the challenges and provide effective policies and methods of rebuilding communities, as well as integrating newcomers, after forced displacement. Both the REGARD project and the symposium set out to promote sharing knowledge among the research community and practitioners in the field and encourage multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral interaction.

Alongside the many significant scientific, policy and practice orientated abstracts, the symposium organisers would like to extend their thanks to the two keynote addresses namely, Dr Dalia Abdelhady, Associate Professor, Lund University, Sweden and Mr Sebastien Penzini, Deputy Chief, Regional Office for Europe, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)