Bridging the Gap: A Literature Review of Post-Earthquake Building Functional Recovery through a User-Informed Lens

Abstract

Post-earthquake functional recovery (FR) is an emerging concept in seismically active regions, emphasizing the integration of recovery-oriented objectives into current building codes that focus on life safety. This study addresses two primary objectives: identifying literature trends through a bibliometric review, and exploring underexamined social dimensions using qualitative assessment. The bibliometric analysis reveals a notable gap regarding the relationship between “recovery process” and “recovery time”. Furthermore, the qualitative assessment shows that existing FR frameworks predominantly concentrate on the physical aspects of buildings, neglecting the critical role of building users. Yet the recovery trajectories of users, which could significantly influence overall recovery timelines following a major event remain underexplored. Including users and their recovery process is vital for achieving a pragmatic post-earthquake FR. Consequently, this study proposes an enhanced mobilization time framework that explicitly incorporates building users’ recovery trajectories. This addresses the identified gap in current methodologies. This advancement contributes to a more holistic understanding of post-earthquake FR and provides valuable insights for future empirical research. It supports the crucial goal of integrating user-centric, recovery-based objectives into contemporary building codes.