Post-disaster deterritorialisation and 'roof-centred' recovery: enduring policy impacts on marginalised groups in...

This study critically examines post-disaster recovery policies in Brazil and their short- and long-term effects on marginalised populations, particularly those living in informal or precarious housing. Drawing on a mixed-methods investigation conducted in collaboration with the Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, the research analyses multi-site and multi-temporal climate-related disasters in Petrópolis (2011, 2022, 2024) and São Sebastião (2023). Through interviews, surveys, spatial analyses, and participatory timelines, it contrasts institutional recovery narratives with the lived experiences of disaster-affected communities. The findings demonstrate that dominant recovery frameworks-centred on rental subsidies and social housing-frequently reproduce displacement, exclusion, and renewed vulnerability. By prioritising the rapid provision of a 'roof' over community continuity, cultural adequacy, and territorial ties, these policies often generate post-disaster deterritorialisation. The study argues for redress-based recovery approaches that reconceptualise recovery not as a discrete policy stage, but as part of an ongoing transformative and context-sensitive disaster risk reduction project.