Rebuilding L'Aquila following the 2009 earthquake: Priorities and perspectives

On April 6th 2009, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake devastated L'Aquila, Italy and the surrounding region. This study examines processes of recovery and reconstruction in L'Aquila over the one-year period between the April 2009 and 2010. Unlike past Italian earthquakes, the reconstruction of L'Aquila was administered by the central government for the first several months, with control ceded to the regional government in January 2010. Data were collected through 18 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with community leaders, public officials and building industry experts who are establishing priorities and shaping post-earthquake decision-making. This paper investigates the prioritization and process for post-earthquake reconstruction, integration of local community organizations and awareness of seismic risk both before and after the earthquake. Although leaders were satisfied with the Civil Protection Agency's emergency response, there was significant disagreement in how rebuilding of different structures should be prioritized. Citizen involvement in decision-making was more prevalent in some communities than others, and may have led to differences in the level of satisfaction residents expressed with reconstruction progress.