QUAKERTY · Governing Quakerty in a Post-Disaster Türkiye

This academic research, entitled 'Governing Quakerty', focuses on the intersection of 'quake' and 'property', and sheds light on property governance in a post-disaster context, particularly in and around the recently quake-affected area of Antakya, in Türkiye, where the research is focused. The central research question is: How does property governance unfold in the earthquake-affected city, and what are the governmental, communal, and individual strategies implemented to deal with land and property loss, appropriation, and the ensuing processes of re-entitlement during the reconstruction period? The research examines the dynamics of disaster property in a post-quake context, encompassing both the collapse (the process of alienation) and reconstruction (the process of re-entitlement) phases, by investigating (a) the disposal, recycling and governance of earthquake-damaged property and personal belongings within collapsed or damaged buildings; (b) the process of post-disaster property claims and strategies for re-entitlement and ownership during relief and reconstruction efforts. By examining the circulation of property along the processes of loss, recycling, reconstruction and re-entitlement in the context of a destroyed urban landscape, in conjunction with legal and institutional contexts and policies, as well as the strategies and experiences of affected individuals, this scholarly investigation will make a critical contribution to the development of an effective approach to property governance in quake-affected areas, thereby assisting resilient and inclusive post-disaster property recovery efforts.