Abstract:
Resettlement of displaced communities both developments induced and disaster induced has
been a subject widely discussed for the last three decades. Among them this study reviews the
experience of Siribopura resettlement housing program in Hambantota Sri Lanka, a city
which has witnessed a number of evictions and resettlements during the past half a decade.
Accordingly this article presents the findings of factors that contributed to the success and
failures of the resettlement housing programs implemented in Hambantota during the period
of 2004–2011. Autonomy of designing own houses, appropriate counseling and facilitating
the resettlers to adapt to new environments, proper linkage of socio cultural aspects with real
estate and economic aspects and availability of formal property rights are presented as crucial
factors for the success of the resettlement in the case materials provided within this study. It
is expected that the lessons learned from this research may provide a systematic feedback that
can be utilized to increase effectiveness of planning and operation of resettlement programs
in other emerging cities in Sri Lanka.
