Urban planning prof studying China’s recovery
from May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province

A study of China's disaster recovery management model, as exhibited in its response to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, is under way at the Texas A&M College of Architecture. Yu Xiao, assistant professor of urban planning at Texas A&M, is principal investigator for the two-year research project funded by a $102,715 National Science Foundation grant.

Her study, "Collaborative Proposal: Developing an Intergovernmental Management Framework for Sustainable Recovery Following Catastrophic Disasters," began Sept 1.

The quake, also known as the Sichuan earthquake, occurred May 12, 2008 in Sichuan Province. The epicenter was in the province's Wenchuan County.

"It affected 46 million people in western China, caused over 88,000 deaths, and paralyzed the economy of a large part of Sichuan province," said Xiao.

The research will use China's recovery management model to advance theoretical understanding of the process of post-disaster recovery management and develop a management framework for coordinating agencies within a three-tiered governmental structure in addressing recovery challenges of catastrophic disasters.

"Recovery planning and management pose unique challenges—especially after catastrophic disasters—for both practitioners and researchers," wrote Xiao in the project's abstract. "As time compresses, stakes increase, additional resources flow, and public interest is heightened," she said.

By studying recovery in dramatically different settings, researchers can begin to differentiate between which features are common to post-catastrophe recovery and which depend on a particular national context, she continued.

The study will include:

• a qualitative review of the recovery planning and management strategies at national, provincial, and local levels following the Wenchuan earthquake; and
• a household survey to collect data on the effectiveness of the recovery policy outcomes.

The project will also explore appropriate governmental roles and actions that ensure post-disaster recovery to be fast, equitable, efficient, and sustainable.

Xiao will be collaborating with researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Virginia Tech, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the project, which also funds the assistance of Texas A&M graduate students.

- Posted: Sept. 30, 2010 -

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.