THE ۱۹۸۵ EARTHQUAKES IN MEXICO CITY AND THE HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

The Housing Emergency Reconstruction Programs were an ad-hoc solution to the situation encountered after the earthquakes of ۱۹۸۵ in Mexico City. They provided fertile ground for technological and organizational innovations and became a natural laboratory for innovations which generated experiences and experiments, some of which should be identified, analyzed and replicated. Many of the strategies applied have been institutionalized as responses to natural disaster situations, and have also had a significant impact on the definition of housing and urban policies in the city. In a period of eighteen months not only were ۴۸,۰۰۰ dwellings rebuilt by The Housing Reconstruction Program (HRP) but it also provided the social and economic conditions necessary for the reconstruction process, in a context of severe budgetary constraints. The help of HRP and several other housing reconstruction projects, enabled ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ families to be properly rehoused.