ABSTRACT
Around 2.3 million people become homeless every year in India due to disasters. This paper will speak of empowerment on the basis of human resilience and the need to design sustainable buildings and settlements that can cope with natural and anthropogenic disasters. The site for the design is a 5.27 acre land located in Mouza Bhoinagar, Bayababa slum in ward no. 35, Bhubaneshwar. Design considerations at the site level allow for natural surveillance, a major aspect of Oscar Newman’s Defensible Space Theory and design considerations at the Unit level looks at multi-functionality, day- lighting, and ventilation of the dwelling unit, a modular approach of planning, incrementality of dwellings, prevention of overcrowding and proper site planning. Disaster resilient strategies are adopted by doing a Hazard Vulnerability Capacity Assessment, taking into consideration cyclones, earthquakes, heat waves, and floods. The focus is on marginalized sections of the society, where the user is empowered to have a key role in decisions related to his/her built environment extending control over the nature of spaces with the option for incremental expansion.
