Karababa, F. 2007. Local Seismic Construction Practices as a Means to Vulnerability Reduction and Sustainable Development. PhD dissertation from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K., download the full text of part 1 (5,316 kB in PDF) and full text of part 2 (7,006 kB in PDF).
The study and conservation of local seismic construction practices, as a valuable source for technical, has been recently recognised. However, a conceptual gap is identified in addressing their conservation in the wider context of vulnerability reduction and sustainable development, compromising the potential for success of supportive policies.
By conceptualising local seismic construction practices as capital, this thesis proposes a theoretical framework within which its conservation can be envisioned as a means to reducing vulnerability and moving towards more sustainable development. Adopting a mixed-method research strategy and a case-study research design, the application of the conceptual framework is demonstrated in the case of Lefkada Island in Greece. Each of the four key constructs (local seismic construction practices, physical vulnerability, social vulnerability, perceptions of local seismic construction practices) that constitute the framework are analytically examined with methods developed and illustrated where necessary. Inter-relationships between the key constructs are hypothesised and corroborated through the integrated interpretation of the findings emerging from the study of the individual constructs
In particular, measures of social vulnerability are developed which are used to discern different levels of social vulnerability on the island. The influence of social vulnerability on perceptions of the local population pertaining to conservation of local seismic construction practices is subsequently demonstrated. The physical vulnerability of the buildings is assessed through damage data of the August 14, 2003 earthquake, and vulnerability curves are developed for the building typologies found in Lefkada. A hypothetical loss scenario is examined that demonstrates, through comparative means, the importance of local seismic construction practices in reducing physical vulnerability, and subsequently expected losses. The high correlation between spatial patterns of social and physical vulnerability is also demonstrated with the aid of a GIS, and through superposition of the two, the need for an integrated approach to vulnerability in identifying regions of critical concern is advocated. Finally, discussion of the contribution of conserving local seismic construction practices in Lefkada, as a means to reducing vulnerability and moving towards more sustainable development, as well as suggestions of how this can be achieved, are provided.
See also Karababa, F. 2008. "Local Seismic Construction Practices as a Means to Vulnerability Reduction And Sustainable Development". Presentation at the 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Beijing, China, 12-17 October 2008, full text (289 kB in PDF).
A house on Lefkada, Greece.
(Copyright Faye Karababa 2005)