Transitional shelter: understanding shelter from the emergency through reconstruction and beyond

People who are homeless because of disaster or conflict need somewhere to live while they rebuild their houses, or find alternative accommodation. Shelter and reconstruction therefore happen in parallel, rather than consecutively.

Shelter Centre introduced the transitional-shelter approach in 2005, as part of secondments through DFID to UNHCR in Sri Lanka and UN OCHA in Indonesia. This was in support of the governments concerned agreeing and coordinating the implementation of policies in response to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of December 2004.

Since 2005, agencies and governments worldwide have used the transitional-shelter approach to accommodate millions of people affected by both conflicts and disasters, from Kenya to Indonesia.