Comparative Study on the Key Issues of Postearthquake Recovery and Reconstruction Planning: Lessons from the United States, Japan, Iran, and China

Abstract

Frequent catastrophic earthquakes have highlighted the significance of postearthquake recovery and reconstruction (PERR) planning, a dynamic and inclusive process which encourages the building of more resilient communities. This paper aims to provide some meaningful lessons for quake-prone countries through a review, comparison, and discussion of PERR planning success and failure factors in the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the United States, the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan, the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran, and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. The authors then provide some guidance for PERR planning in key areas such as formulating predisaster planning, enabling participatory planning, capacity building for public involvement, schedule control, process coordination, developing catastrophe insurance, protecting vulnerable groups, and assessing plan quality. Further in-depth studies could be done to conduct broader crossnational comparisons on some important specific aspects, such as predisaster planning, participatory planning, and plan implementation.