ABSTRACT
After the 2009 ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires in Australia, the Victorian Government provided a range of rebuilding support. Quick rebuilding of housing was assumed to be the priority, but many people did not desire to rebuild or were not prepared for this. Thus ‘holding the space’, enabling people to find suitable short-term accommodation, included building temporary villages and other forms of interim assistance. This experience points to a number of lessons indicating that policy makers and professionals should explore a range of housing options that are quick to build, offer a good quality of life, are affordable for most, and have design flexibility for future use.
