A cohesive society is not only characterised by the availability of basic services and facilities, but also promotes economic equality and inclusion, democracy, and social solidarity. Forced displacement due to disasters and conflict constantly disrupt the path to a sustainable and cohesive society. Displaced communities often struggle with a lack of access to livelihood and a lack of financial independence and social and family stability. With these challenges, a lack of provision of basic services and facilities will create a competition for housing, health, and education between the displaced and host communities. Additionally, the economic competition for jobs and the role of international aid in terms of fairness create social tension between the displaced and the host. Likewise, multiple aspects weaken the social cohesion between displaced and host communities. Within this context, we investigated approaches to enhance social cohesion following disaster-induced and conflict-induced displacement. With the identification of this research need, the research team of the project titled REGARD (REbuild-inG AfteR Displacement) conducted 47 in-depth interviews in four partner countries (U.K., Sweden, Estonia, and Sri Lanka) with community representatives, social support networks, agency networks, officials, etc. Moreover, focus group discussions were conducted with community members in Sri Lanka. The collected data were analysed through a qualitative data analysis procedure. The findings present eight approaches to strengthen the social cohesion between displaced and host communities. These eight approaches include the adequate provision of basic services and facilities without limiting the capacity of the host, support services aimed at local integration, economic integration between the displaced and host, and social cohesion through the built environment.

Disaster induced displacement is one of the most frequent phenomena occurring in the contemporary world and has been aggravated by factors such as climate change. With the systematic interpretation of disaster risks, planned relocation has been recognized as a durable solution for post-disaster reconstruction and disaster mitigation. Planned relocation initiatives that have been executed as post-disaster reconstruction initiatives in Sri Lanka have mainly followed donor driven and owner driven approaches. This study is a comparative analysis of the status quo of owner driven relocation options that were implemented after the landslide which took place in 2016 in the X District of Sri Lanka. Two research fields were selected based on the two owner driven options as part of the selected case study: Government Resettlement Sites and Individual Resettlement Sites. This exploratory study utilizes both secondary and primary data. A purposive sample of ten households was selected from each setting to conduct in-depth interviews. Furthermore, five structured interviews with key informants were conducted using an expert sample. Secondary data were collected based on the concepts of relocation and satisfaction of housing. The findings suggest that the respondents were satisfied with the housing units in both settings despite concerns in relation to the suggested plans of the housing units. Furthermore, common concerns were raised in terms of delays and issues in fund management in construction of houses. However, there was a drastic disparity in terms of other infrastructural, public, and neighborhood facilities in the two settings. Hence, this study suggests the need for an overall management and monitoring strategy for all owner driven relocation options.

Public Open Spaces (POSs) are fundamental to sustainable urban development, yet their planning and design potential as resilience-generating infrastructure in coastal cities remains insufficiently explored. In tsunami-prone contexts, POSs can be reconceptualized as multifunctional spatial systems that integrate environmental sustainability with disaster-responsive urban design. This study investigates how POSs can be planned and designed as tsunami-responsive infrastructure to enhance coastal urban resilience. Using a grounded theory approach supported by a focused literature review, data were collected through 72 unstructured interviews with tsunami-affected communities, urban planners and designers, disaster resilience experts, sociologists, and coastal environmental planners, etc. The findings identify three resilience-oriented POS typologies: (1) evacuation-integrated open spaces structured as spatial corridors and elevated assembly landscapes; (2) protective and mitigative landscapes employing topographic modulation, vegetative buffers, and water-sensitive design; and (3) adaptive shelter-embedded open spaces designed as flexible civic grounds capable of rapid transformation into temporary refuge infrastructure. The study proposes an architectural and urban design framework that positions POSs as adaptive coastal infrastructure simultaneously serving everyday civic functions while supporting evacuation, mitigation, emergency response, and climate adaptation. This approach advances resilience-focused architecture and risk-informed coastal urbanism.