## **A New Housing Strategy for the Earthquake Zone**

**The Republic of Armenia**

**Technical Assistance Project**

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######### **URBAN RENEWAL SITE**

**CASE STUDY**

**SPITAK, ARMENIA**

###### BASELINE CENSUS AND MONITORING

###### OF RELOCATION PROCESS OF DOMIC RESIDENTS

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###### Prepared for USAID / Armenia

###### Contract No. EEU-I-99-00015-00

**Task Order 801**

**(Urban Institute Project No. 6901-002-00)**

####### By

Lucig H. Danielian, Ph.D.

Theresa Khorozian, Senior Researcher

Center for Policy Analysis

####### American University of Armenia

Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

####### November 1999

With the research assistance of Anahit Hakobyan, Research Associate

Center for Policy Analysis

### Background

Sponsored by USAID, the Urban Institute (UI) is providing technical
assistance to the Government of the Republic of Armenia and to donors in
order to implement the "New Housing Strategy for the Earthquake Zone"
project in the Republic of Armenia. The Strategy, developed in 1998 for
the World Bank by UI with assistance from the Institute for Urban
Economics, Moscow, and the Center for Policy Analysis (CPA) at the
American University of Armenia, Yerevan, is comprised of urban renewal
activities in conjunction with shelter provision in the Earthquake Zone
(EQZ), including the City of Spitak. The American Red Cross (ARC) is
planning a new construction project in Spitak comprised of 209
apartments in 23 buildings. The site for construction is in the center
of Spitak and is occupied by "domics" (temporary huts and trailers) and
semi-permanent houses. The ARC Spitak program calls for removal of all
domic households by the Spitak authorities and their relocation during
construction of the new apartment buildings. UI saw this activity as an
excellent opportunity to document a "case study" of the relocation
process and interim shelter arrangements.

In order to provide information for future urban renewal projects in the
EQZ, the Urban Institute asked the Center for Policy Analysis to perform
a baseline census and monitoring of residents being relocated from the
ARC Spitak site. The purpose of the census and monitoring is to
ascertain: 1) how residents are being relocated; 2) how these costs are
being paid for; 3) where residents are living if their domics can not be
relocated; and 4*)* if all relocated families are eligible for new
housing at the site. The renewal site itself was observed and informal
interviews were conducted with selected residents in order to determine
the number of domics, the general character of the site, and other
pertinent site conditions. The relocated residents will be monitored for
the next year in coordination with ARC.

This Report summarizes the results of the baseline census, site
observations and informal interviews, and the first follow-up visit to
the site.

## Baseline Census of Residents of the ARC Spitak Site

A self-administered one-page questionnaire was prepared for the census
(see Appendix A). On October 16, 1999, ARC held a meeting with the
Spitak site residents, and CPA staff distributed the questionnaire at
its conclusion. The questionnaires were provided to each household
representative by CPA staff. Fifty-eight participants at the ARC meeting
completed questionnaires.

The majority of residents (74 percent) reported that their domics were
being relocated to a new site, with 6 domics already having been moved
(see Table 1a). However, the percentage is lower in another question
that asked where relocated residents will be living while the new
housing is being constructed \-- 60 percent said that they will live in
their relocated domic and 14 percent will live with relatives and
friends (see Table 1b). Almost half of the domic residents (48 percent)
have built *"*add-ons"(primarily stone and concrete walls) to their
domics, but few of them (11 percent) plan to sell any of the materials
used in these add-ons (see Table 1a).

Almost all of the respondents (86 percent) reported in an open-ended
question that the Spitak Mayor's office would pay for the moving costs,
with 12 percent of the residents stating that they did not know how
costs would be covered (see Table 1b). However, when asked, "who is
paying for your temporary housing costs," and provided with responses
from which to choose, 55 percent said that the government is paying to
move their domic and 21 percent said that the Spitak government is
paying for temporary housing costs. However, 14 percent reported that
they did not expect any money from anyone to cover temporary housing
costs *(*see Table 1b).

The final question was closed-ended and asked, "if it is determined by
ARC that you do not meet the eligibility criteria needed to receive a
housing unit in the new building, where will you live when you leave
this site?" Twenty-eight percent said that they will live in the same
domic but in another site and another 33 percent reported that they
would expect a new domic or other housing to be provided by the
government (see Table 1c). Twenty-two percent reported that under such
circumstances they would not move from their current domic and will not
allow their houses to be destroyed; ten of these 13 respondents claim to
own legally registered private houses on the site. Fourteen percent said
that they did not know what they would do.

### Site Observations

CPA staff visited the site on October 16 and conducted informal
interviews with the members of eight households in order to clarify
several issues related to the moving process. The actual relocation of
domics was observed -- even though it was a Saturday, lorries and cranes
were working. Both the domic dwellers interviewed and workmen reported
that relocation of the domics was being carried out by the Spitak
Mayor's Office and that the local government had provided a site for the
temporary relocation of domics. Domic dwellers with private land were
advised by the local government to move their domics to their own sites.

Domics residents, including those who have small add-ons, appear to have
few problems with leaving their homes temporarily because the local
government is taking responsibility for the move. However, some domic
residents claimed that they will allow their domics to be moved only
after they obtain an official agreement from the local government for a
new house because they said that they do not trust the government. In
addition, there were some complaints from residents with small children
about the process taking place during the onset of winter when it was
already getting quite cold.

Although the process of moving the domics and houses had been started,
it was not clear what kind of solutions would be offered to those
households whose domics or other types of temporarily shelters are not
moveable.

Almost a fourth of the respondents (24 percent , n=14) claim that their
house is privately owned and legally registered on the site. The main
complaint of these homeowners was that they should not be treated in the
same way as the domic dwellers who are not property owners. They have
been told by the Spitak government that they should move temporarily and
that they will get the government's assistance for temporary housing.
However, these homeowners complained that the alternatives were not
explained clearly.

Problems were also observed related to a number of private houses
bordering the ARC construction site and that are not on the ARC list of
construction site residents. The Spitak government informed these
households that they must leave during construction and that they will
receive apartments in the new ARC buildings. These homeowners are not
willing to exchange their houses and gardens for an apartment. They
explained that if they are forced to leave their homes they will require
compensation in addition to new apartments.

#### [Follow-up Visit]{.underline}

The first follow-up visit to the site took place on November 14, less
than one month after the initial baseline data collection. CPA staff
informally interviewed seven households in order to collect new
information on the implementation of the moving process and the
alternatives used for the different types of temporarily shelters at the
site. About 2/3 of all domics had been moved. The following alternatives
have been implemented:

-   Four domics were destroyed because their residents had received an
    apartment in a new building on an adjacent site built with funds
    form the Central Government. The move to the new apartments was
    still in progress and three households were set to move soon out of
    their domics. One old woman complained that the local government had
    refused her request to have her domic moved to her own private land
    to use for a purpose other than housing rather than having it
    destroyed. This example demonstrates the local government's plan to
    destroy all domics if its residents have received an apartment or
    other temporary shelter.

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-   Those domics that did not have substantial add-ons were moved to
    another site by the local government. About five such domics were
    still waiting to be moved. In answer to a question about whether it
    was realistic to expect the domic to be habitable after it was
    moved, one woman answered that "it worked for others, therefore it
    will work for my domic as well."

-   The local government helped several households to move construction
    materials in the add-ons along with the domics. As one domic
    resident explained, their household needs the materials to rebuild
    these add-ons at the new temporary site. It is clear that this
    option will not work for all domics with add-ons, especially those
    domics with substantial add-ons.

-   The local government found other solutions for those households that
    lived in temporary shelters that could not be moved. These
    households were offered new domics on another site. One household
    with 11 members was offered a two-room apartment in the new Hayastan
    building to live in temporarily until the ARC buildings are ready.

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-   The owners of private homes on the edges of the site and who are not
    on the ARC list reported that the government had changed it decision
    and that they are being allowed to stay in their homes for the
    duration of the construction project.

##### 

##### [Summary and Future Activities]{.underline}

The relocation process of domic households from the ARC site by Spitak
officials has had planning problems, which is mainly the result of (1)
insufficient information to residents and (2) an absence of legal
commitments (contractually or otherwise even if residents are duly
eligible) that the displaced families will receive a housing unit in one
of the new buildings. These factors seem to have resulted in high levels
of anxiety for site residents because of the uncertainties as to their
immediate shelter solutions and their ultimate disposition vis-à-vis the
new housing project planned for their site. However, the physical
removal or demolition of domics seems to be swift and efficient. The
information to date indicates that the majority of the affected
households' interim shelter will be, in fact, their very same domics
moved to another location.

##### 

##### Residents being relocated for the ARC construction project will be followed during the next year in order to determine where they are living temporarily, how many receive new ARC apartments, and the ultimate disposition of those families not eligible for ARC housing. The monitoring will continue until the ARC project apartments are assigned in the year 2000. 

##### Table 1a: CPA Census of ARC Housing Construction Site Residents

+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      | ######        | ######## N    |
|                                      | ## Percentage |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Address provided**                 |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Torosyan St                          | 47            | 27            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Alek Manukyan St.                    | 33            | 19            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Kirov St.                            | 7             | 4             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Bagramyan St.                        | 5             | 3             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Shahumyan St.                        | 2             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Vopyan St.                           | 2             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Refused to answer                    | 5             | 3             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| ##### Status of domic move           |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Domic is being moved                 | 74            | 43            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Domic is not yet being moved         | 16            | 9             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know                          | 3             | 2             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Refused to answer                    | 7             | 4             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Does domic have add-ons**          |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Yes                                  | 48            | 28            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| No                                   | 26            | 15            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Private house                        | 26            | 15            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| ##### Removal of add-ons             |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will not sell any materials          | 79            | 22            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will sell materials                  | 11            | 3             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know                          | 7             | 2             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Refused to answer                    | 4             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 28            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+

#####  

##### Table 1b: CPA Census of ARC Housing Construction Site Residents

+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| #####                                | ######        | ######## N    |
|                                      | ## Percentage |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| ##### Temporary housing solution     |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will move domic to other site        | 60            | 35            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will live with relatives/friends     | 14            | 8             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will rent house/apartment            | 7             | 4             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will buy other domic                 | 2             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Expect domic from government         | 2             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Expect other government assistance   | 3.5           | 2             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know/Can not say              | 12            | 7             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Who is paying for moving costs**   |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Mayor\'s office                      | 86            | 50            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know                          | 12            | 7             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Refused to answer                    | 2             | 1             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Who is paying for temporary        |               |               |
| housing costs**                      |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Government is paying to move domic   | 55            | 32            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Spitak government is paying for      | 21            | 12            |
| temporary housing                    |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| No one is paying for temporary       | 14            | 8             |
| housing                              |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Domic resident is paying to move     | 2             | 1             |
| domic                                |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Domic resident expects to receive    | 2             | 1             |
| other domic                          |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know                          | 7             | 4             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+

#####  

##### 

##### Table 1c: CPA Census of ARC Housing Construction Site Residents

+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|                                      | ######        | ######## N    |
|                                      | ## Percentage |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Plans if do not receive new ARC    |               |               |
| apartment**                          |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will move current domic to another   | 28            | 16            |
| place and live there                 |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will request a domic from the        | 28            | 16            |
| government                           |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will demand other option from        | 5             | 3             |
| government                           |               |               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Will not move from current domic     | 22            | 13            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Do not know                          | 14            | 8             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Refused to answer                    | 3             | 2             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Total                                | 100           | 58            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+

[Appendix A: Questionnaire]{.underline}

Name of Head of
Household\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Address of
Domic\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

1\. Is your domic being moved to a new site?

\_\_\_\_\_\_Yes

\_\_\_\_\_\_No

2\. Have you built any add-ons to the domic you live in now?

\_\_\_\_\_ No

> \_\_\_\_\_Yes (Will you try to sell any of the materials?
> (\_\_\_\_\_\_Yes/\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_No)

3\. Assume that you will get a new ARC house in the same place. Where
will you live while

it is being built?

> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will move domic to another place

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will buy another domic

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will rent a house/apartment

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will live with relatives and friends

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Other (Please
explain\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)

4\. Who is paying for the moving costs?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

5\. Who is paying for your temporary housing costs?

> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_I am paying to move my domic
>
> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_The government is paying to move my domic
>
> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Spitak government is paying for the temporary housing
> costs

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Spitak government is paying for part of the one year
housing costs

> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_No one is giving me money for the temporary housing
> costs

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Other (Please
explain\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)

6\. If it determined by ARC that you do not meet the eligibility
criteria to receive a housing

unit in the new building, where will you live when you leave this site?

> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will move domic to another place

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will request a domic from the Government

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will buy another domic

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Will rent a house/apartment

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_Other (Please
explain\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)