Service and Identity in Refugee Settlements
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Structures for the Displaced: Service and Identity in Refugee Settlements Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Prof. dr. ir. J.T. Fokkema vorzitter van het College voor Promoties, in het openbaar te verdedigen op 18 juni 2008 om 10.30 uur door James KENNEDY Master of Architecture, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Geboren te Wallsend, England Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotors: Prof. A. Tzonis Prof. Dr. Liane Lefaivre Prof. Dip. Ing H.J. Rosemann Samenstelling promotiecommissie: Rector Magnificus voorzitter Prof. A. Tzonis Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof. Dr. L. Lefaivre Universitat fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria, promotor Prof. Dip. Ing H.J. Rosemann Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof. A. Falu University of Cordoba, Argentina Prof. V. Patijn Technische Universiteit Delft Prof. Hoang Ell Jeng Tamkang University, Taiwan Prof. dr. V. Nadin Technische Universiteit Delft Published by International Forum on Urbanism (IfoU) Berlageweg 1 2628 CR Delft Holland Printed by Sieca Repro Turbineweg 20 2627 BP Delft Holland Copyright © James Kennedy All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by electronic or mechanical means without permission from the author. ISBN 978-90-78658-07-8 Abstract The design of refugee camps presents an extreme form of urban architectural practise. Despite the large numbers of those who are forced to live in such camps, their vulnerability, and the emergency nature of the camps’ construction, relatively few texts to date have been focused upon camp design, and the state-of-the-art type commonly used by humanitarian organisations reveals an emphasis upon short-term rather than long-term solutions, and an emphasis upon camps being a delivered collection of shelter objects, rather than being considered in the light of the social performance of the settlement as a whole. This thesis investigates: • How institutional, financial and design constraints have combined to influence the form of refugee camp design. • To what extent those influences have created a predominant type, adhered to through humanitarian organisations’ guidelines, and through actual camp construction. • How gaps in performance of the current refugee camp type can be identified and categorised, through an analysis of the form, and through a single case-study of an instantiation of that type. • To what extent an amended design tool for camps can be developed, on the basis of the analysis provided through the thesis. The research method is interdisciplinary: it employs knowledge from humanitarian law, urban sociology, environmental studies, and architectural theory. It also employs the case- study approach, using the specific case of Ifo refugee camp, in north-eastern Kenya, as well as making reference to the design of a number of other specific camps previously and currently in existence. Within the field of refugee camp design, the thesis draws heavily on the work of Cuny and Davis, and those who have collaborated with them or built upon their work, in particular Corsellis and Vitale. With regards to architectural theory, the thesis makes significant use of the observation and design methodology developed at TU Delft’s Design Knowledge Systems Research Centre, and in particular the work of Alex Tzonis on issues of methodology of analysis of performance and user-needs. For the case study, the thesis departs from the observational and participatory methodologies delineated by Gans, but argues for an adaptation of such methodologies for specific cases in refugee camps. The tool developed, can be applied in refugee camps, and could be adapted for camps for other categories of displaced people whereby the lifespan of the camp is undetermined. Keywords Refugee camp Design Tool Camp design Design Methodology Refugee law Minimum standards Preface and Acknowledgements The research for this thesis has been closely related to my work and over the past years as an emergency shelter consultant. Through this work, I have been involved in the construction and upgrading of camps, as well as shelter programmes where the goal was to support families in reconstruction on their customary land, without their being displaced to camps. Throughout my work, and conversations with other professionals in the field, there has been a growing awareness that much work in the field of emergency shelter is in effect being done blind, with little in the way of feedback or evaluation of programmes, and even less work done in assessing the impact of settlement and shelter programmes over the long-term. This in turn has become my impetus for looking at the criteria through which such life-cycle changes might be assessed, and also for examining ways in which the design of camps can be reinforced as a process, in order to reflect and adapt to the changing needs of the affected populations. The progress of this thesis have been conducted as a series of field missions with my then returning to my home-base, to more reflective stages of research and the responses and support of a number of people, without whom this thesis would not have taken its current form or have whatever strengths and depths it does contain, and whom I would like to offer my gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to thank my promotors, Professors Alex Tzonis, Liane Lefaivre and Jurgen Rosemann, for their generosity of insight, direction, support and kindness during the development of this thesis. There have been a number of people and organisations who have been kind enough to allow me access to their archives or documentation centres. In this regard, I would like to thank Kim Maynard, Rick Hill and Don Krumm at the Cuny Centre, Tom Corsellis and Antonella Vitale at Shelter Centre, Lee McDonald and his staff at the UNHCR archive in Geneva, Luc St Pierre, Yvon Orand and Jenny Bredin at the UNHCR Population and Geographic Data Section, Isabelle Kronegg at the Comité International de la Croix-Rouge Centre d’information et de documentation, Kelly Shannon and Maura Slootmaekers at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Post-Graduate Centre for Human Settlements, Phil O’Keefe and Donna Howstan at ETC-UK, and the librarian staff at Yale University and the Max Planck Institut of Heidelberg University. I would also like to thank others who have given me copies of hard-to-find documents, including Tim Foster, Carol Lancaster, and staff at UNHCR Kenya. I would also like to thank those at the Norwegian Refugee Council who have given their support to my research, especially Øyvind Nordlie and Qurat-ul-Ain Sadozai. I would like to thank those who worked with me in the NRC team at Ifo, and who were willing to accommodate my research activities within our hectic work schedule, as well as those from the other humanitarian organisations who gave support to my work there. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Ifo Camp: an introduction 5 Chapter 2: Definition of Terms; Scope of Research; Delineation of a Methodology 26 Description of the problem in global terms 26 Definition of key terms 29 Introduction to the design brief, and initial enumeration of gaps in the current design type 35 Delineation of a methodology of research 43 Chapter 3: Institutional Constraints: Refugee Law and Planned Settlements 49 Refugee law as a constraint 49 A framework of levels of refugee law 50 The history of the development of refugee law, 1948-2007 51 The application of the framework of refugee law to the case of Ifo 61 Chapter 4: The Development of Guidelines for Refugee Camp Planning 71 Delineation of the investigation 71 Categories of documentation 73 Precursors to refugee camp planning, 1906-1971 76 Fred Cuny and the development of the ‘community module’ camp design type, 1971-1982 81 Adaptations of the community module type, 1982-1995 106 Minimum standards for camp design, 1995-2007 114 Chapter 5: Development and Design of Ifo Camp 141 Overview of the available documentation 142 Rationale for the choice of Ifo as a case-study location 144 North-eastern Kenya and southern Somalia, climate and history 147 The development of Ifo, 1991-2006 149 The development of Ifo, 2006-2007 and the decision to construct camp extensions 166 The case-study: overview of a guiding framework 173 Activities and constraints in the use of the case-study approach with regards to refugee camps 175 The Morphology, Operations and Performance of Ifo camp 179 Chapter 6: Scenarios for the Future of Ifo 199 Scenario 1: slow and long-term increase in population 200 Scenario 2: rapid and large increase in population 201 Scenario 3: rapid but incomplete decrease in population 202 Scenario-building and the design tool 203 Chapter 7: A Design Tool for Refugee Camps 204 Reassessment of design constraints and assumptions 204 Design tool for Ifo II extension: 209 Design in response to Scenario 1 209 Design in response to Scenario 2 212 Design in response to Scenario 3 213 Design tool for Ifo: 213 Design in response to Scenario 1 214 Design in response to Scenario 2 215 Design in response to Scenario 3 215 Assimilation of design elements 218 Conclusion 221 References 224 Annex: A catalogue raisonée of refugee camps 247 Overview of the methodology for the catalogue raisonée 247 A catalogue raisonée in numbers 253 About the author 271 Abbreviations AU African Union (successor to the OAU) BPRM United States Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration CAR Central African Republic DRC Danish Refugee Council DRC Democratic Republic of