Improving Housing Seismic Safety in Developing Countries: the World Housing Encyclopedia

Abstract eng:
The World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE), a joint project by EERI and IAEE, is reliant upon the contributions of volunteers who are committed to improving the knowledge base of housing construction practices in seismically active areas of the world. The mission of the WHE is to disseminate information about different housing construction types and encourage the use of earthquake-resistant technologies worldwide. Despite limited resources, the committed, skilled, and experienced WHE contributors have produced materials that are making a difference. The two primary initiatives of the WHE, a worldwide database of housing types and construction tutorials, guidelines for select predominant building types, are described in this paper. In addition to information about each of the WHE’s main publications, their effectiveness and potential readership are also discussed. With these new developments and the impact that they have created over the years, the WHE is in a unique position to start thinking about the following questions: • What are the pressing needs for improving the seismic safety of buildings in developing countries that could benefit from the WHE involvement? • Where are the gaps in the current resources offered by the WHE? • The WHE publications fall in the category of technical guidelines. Are there other areas of focus that might be more effective, such as helping prepare materials to raise public awareness for the need of better building standards? • What other forms of assistance might the WHE be able to provide to improve seismic safety in developing countries? The answers to these questions, along with the knowledge gathered through the process thus far, illustrate the many opportunities for the WHE and organizations with similar goals to improve the seismic safety of houses in developing countries.

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