2.5 CHALLENGES OF SPATIAL ANALYSIS
2.5.2 Challenges when applying spatial analysis to minimise the complex links between
during resettlement practices
During the implementation of a resettlement programme, all displacement areas would be expected to serve displaced persons and helpers who utilise the space in those places. Nevertheless, the problems associated with space and the provision of the basic essentials still exist throughout all phases in the resettlement areas, from the evacuation centre, to the temporary displacement area, and permanent resettlement area. Accordingly, the situation
Resettlement Programme
Timeline: BEFORE DURING AFTER
Targets: Processes: Sources: -Primary data From displaced Persons -Secondary data From government Departments
Displacement Areas Provision of the basic essentials
Investigation Establishment Evacuation Centre Temporary Displacement Area Permanent Resettlement Area
Sustainability and Satisfaction
Evaluation Evacuation Centre Temporary Displacement Area Permanent Resettlement Area Thematic Maps
- Series map layers of a vulnerable hazard community Spatial Data + Feature Formats; e.g.
Features Feature Formats
Houses Points
Roads Lines
River, Streams Lines Administrative boundaries Polygons Non-spatial Data + Attributions
- Social-Economic-Administrative Data; such as, Livelihoods, Income, Education, Ethnic Background, Family members in a household, Ages, Careers, Leader names and locations in each village, etc.
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within the evacuation centre after the disaster occurs is chaotic. Overcrowding is a major problem in evacuation centres, although the available space has been roughly estimated in advance to serve those people (Kinsey and Binswanger, 1993). The actual space utilised by people in evacuation centres has never been examined while a handbook for emergencies clearly states standards and guidelines for providing space for affected people during emergencies (UNHCR, 2007). The purpose of the UNHCR standards and guidelines is to avoid long term issues, such as conflicts with the local community, ensure a safe environment for refugees and deliver humanitarian assistance. The details of the standards related to the context of this research are addressed in Appendix 1. In terms of space utility in the evacuation centre including all other temporary and permanent resettlement areas, a basic function of spatial analysis is to estimate the density of the space that the people occupy. This technique requires very high resolution imagery integrated with an expert interpretation system which clearly defines the functions and criteria of the buildings and their feasible utility.
Apart from the insufficient space in the evacuation centre, inaccessibility is another major concern that causes several difficulties for affected people who are seeking to fulfil their basic needs; such as safe areas, water, fuel for fires, food, and community services (Corsellis and Vitale, 2005). Several techniques of spatial analysis can be used to minimise these issues effectively. The shortest path analysis was developed to discover the shortest route by which to access the target under the defined criteria, such as avoiding main roads and avoiding submerged routes. This technique requires high resolution images with a rich database in order to generate reliable and precise results. Beyond the literature reviewed about the problems associated with inaccessibility in the hazard community, there are definitely several problems waiting to be explored and solved by the application of spatial analysis.
Techniques used to extract the complex relationship between problems associated
with spatial aspects in displacement locations
In order to minimise the complex issues associated with displacement locations, the links between these issues and the locations must be carefully extracted. This can be derived from the experiences of displaced people regarding displacement locations. Regarding people’s perception of the place, it appears that a sense of place is a controversial issue. Several scholars (Bott et al., 2003; Cantrill and Senecah, 2001; Steele, 1981) have noted
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that a sense of place is a feeling that is dominated by an individual’s perception rather than the place itself. The importance of a sense of place has been shown in several studies that suggest that a lack of this sense may lead to poor development and a lack of improvement. For instance, Chigbu (2013) found, from in-depth interviews and historically informed observation, that a weak sense of place lead to poor development in Uturu, Nigeria. The sense of place was studied by Diaz and Dayal (2008) within the psycho-social discipline in relation to supporting victims against the impact of natural disasters in order to re-establish their sense of place by using a model of community based psycho-social support programmes. People’s qualitative perceptions of a place express a real sense of place beyond the physical dimension of the geographical place. This means that an understanding of the recognition and awareness of a sense of place may help to minimise the problems associated with locations more effectively.
However, the implication of extracting the subjective sense of place is a major problem that exceeds the physical characteristics of a place. Based on a study by Xu (1995), it is possible to adopt solutions for mitigating the implications of the subjective sense of place in three respective ways, i.e. firstly, by studying people’s perceptions of the place; secondly, by recognising the history of the place; and, lastly, by developing the place based on people’s perceptions of it. People’s subjective perceptions of a place can be extracted by carefully focusing on the terms associated with the objective space and its dimensions (Basden, 2004):
- Continuous extension
- Here, there, between, around, inside and outside, continuity, near, far - Spreading out in a continuous manner
- Shapes
- Occupying space
- Identified by x,y coordinates - Dimension
- Size, slope, volume, area
Based on the explored perceptions of displaced people regarding the displacement locations, this qualitative information may either confirm or contradict the physical conditions of these locations. Therefore, it is challenging to study people’s perceptions of the provision of the basic essentials and the utility in displacement areas throughout resettlement programmes. Also, it is challenging to analyse the displacement areas’
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response to the issues arising in those areas by applying spatial analysis to examine the statement of problems visually. This challenge supports Bahrenberg (1984)’s question of whether the future trend in applying spatial analysis will proceed to focus on the link between the constraints on human behaviour and the decision making approach to socio- economic factors.
With respect to the limitations and criteria of displacement areas organised by the government and relevant organisation, this technique sheds light on the optimum balance technique for implementing resettlement programmes in practice. As the explored results from the above analysis technique shown, the perceptions and requirements of displaced people with regard to utilising the displacement areas can be balanced according to the limited space and criteria related to the displacement areas. This optimum balance will be discussed in the next section.