Shelter and settlement standard 2: physical planning
Local physical planning practices are used where possible, enabling safe and secure access to and use of shelters and essential services and facilities, as well as ensuring appropriate privacy and separation between individual household shelters. |
Key indicators (to be read in conjunction with the guidance notes)
Area or cluster planning by family, neighbourhood or village groups as appropriate supports existing social networks, contributes to security and enables self-management by the affected population (see guidance note 1).
All members of the affected population have safe access to water, sanitary facilities, health care, solid waste disposal, graveyards and social facilities, including schools, places of worship, meeting points and recreational areas (see guidance notes 2-4).
Temporary planned or self-settled camps are based on a minimum surface area of 45m2 for each person (see guidance note 5).
The surface topography is used or augmented to facilitate water drainage, and the ground conditions are suitable for excavating toilet pits where this is the primary sanitation system (see guidance note 6).
There are roads and pathways to provide safe, secure and all-weather access to the individual dwellings and facilities (see guidance note 7).
Mass shelters have openings to enable required access and emergency evacuation, and these openings are positioned so that access is well supervised and does not pose a security threat to occupants (see guidance note 8).
Vector risks are minimised (see guidance note 9).
Guidance notes
1. Cluster planning: for collective settlements, the allocation of space within mass shelters and plots within temporary planned camps should be guided by existing social practices and the provision and maintenance of shared resources, including water and sanitation facilities, cooking, food distribution, etc. The plot layout in temporary planned camps should maintain the privacy and dignity of separate households by offsetting door openings and ensuring that each household shelter opens onto common space. Safe, integrated living areas should also be provided for vulnerable groups and displaced communities that comprise a significant number of single adults or unaccompanied children. For dispersed settlements, the principles of cluster planning also apply e.g. groups of households return to a defined geographical area or identify host families in close proximity to one another.
2. Access to services and facilities: access to essential services, including water supply, toilets, and health and social facilities, should be planned to maximise the use of existing or repaired facilities whilst minimising the adverse effect on any neighbouring or host communities. Additional facilities or access points should be provided as required to meet the needs of accommodating the target population, and planned to ensure safe access by all inhabitants. The social structure and gender roles of the affected population and the requirements of vulnerable groups should be reflected in the planning and provision of services. Safe play areas should be made available for children, and access to schools and other educational facilities provided where possible (see Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion chapter and Health systems and infrastructure standard 5, guidance note 1).
3. Handling the remains of the dead: social customs for dealing with the remains of the dead should be respected. Where customs vary, separate areas should be available for each social group to exercise their own traditions with dignity. Where existing facilities such as graveyards or crematoria are inadequate, alternative locations or facilities should be provided. Graveyards should be at least 30 metres from groundwater sources used for drinking water, with the bottom of any grave at least 1.5m above the groundwater table. Surface water from graveyards must not enter inhabited areas. The affected community should also have access to materials to meet the needs for culturally acceptable funeral pyres and other funeral rites (see also Health systems and infrastructure standard 5, guidance note 8).
4. Administrative facilities and quarantine areas: as required, provision should be made for administrative offices, warehousing and staff accommodation to support disaster response activities, and for quarantine areas (see Control of communicable diseases standard 4).
5. Surface area: the planning guideline of 45m2 per person includes household plots and the area necessary for roads, footpaths, educational facilities, sanitation, firebreaks, administration, water storage, distribution areas, markets and storage, plus limited kitchen gardens for individual households. Area planning should also consider evolution and growth of the population. If the minimum surface area cannot be provided, consideration should be given to mitigating the consequences of higher-density occupation e.g. separation and privacy between individual households, space for the required facilities, etc.
6. Topography and ground conditions: for temporary planned camps the site gradient should not exceed 6%, unless extensive drainage and erosion control measures are taken, or be less than 1% to provide for adequate drainage. Drainage channels may still be required to minimise flooding or ponding. The lowest point of the site should be not less than 3 metres above the estimated level of the water table in the rainy season. Ground conditions should also inform the locations of toilets and other facilities and hence the planning of settlements e.g. fissured rock may disperse toilet waste widely; fine clays provide poor percolation and the early failure of toilet pits; volcanic rock makes the excavation of toilet pits difficult (see Excreta disposal standard 2 and Drainage standard 1).
7. Access to shelter locations: existing or new access routes should avoid proximity to any hazards. Where possible, such routes should also avoid creating isolated or screened areas that could pose a threat to the personal safety of users. Erosion as a result of the regular use of access routes should be minimised where possible through considered planning (see Shelter and settlement standard 4, guidance note 4).
8. Access and emergency escape: mass shelters should ensure the free access of the occupants whilst enabling adequate supervision by the occupants themselves to minimise any potential security threat. Steps or changes of level close to exits to collective shelters should be avoided, and all stairways and ramps should be provided with handrails. Where possible, occupants with walking difficulties or those unable to walk without assistance should be allocated space on the ground floor, adjacent to exits or along access routes free from changes of level. All occupants of the building should be within an agreed reasonable distance of a minimum of two exits, providing a choice in the direction of escape in case of fire, and these exits should be clearly visible.
9. Vector risks: low-lying areas, pits, vacant buildings and excavations (such as those resulting from adobe construction) can provide breeding grounds for pests which could pose a health risk to adjacent households (see Vector control standard 2).
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