Policy Recommendations for Built Environment Professional Bodies in Upgrading Their Professional Competencies to Address Displacement Contexts

Displacement due to extreme weather conditions and conflicts is a frequent phenomenon in the contemporary world. With the overall alteration of their day-to-day lives, the displaced communities require urgent and sustainable built environment interventions to rebuild their lives. It is vital that the needs of the displaced and host communities are satisfied by the built environment. However, in some instances, built environment professionals such as planners, designers, and architects are not aware of the cultural, social and economic needs of the displaced and host communities. This indeed has a grave impact on the overall satisfaction and impact of built environment interventions. Hence, this study is an investigation of the role of built environment professionals in relation to displacement. The study was based on evaluating the need for built environment professional bodies to upgrade their professional competencies to address the needs of host and displaced communities. The need was justified recognising existing gaps in built environment professional competencies and further formulating policy recommendations on how built environment professionals could accommodate the needs of the displaced and host communities in their interventions effectively. The methodology employed consisted of three stages including an integrative literature review, mapping the findings of the literature review against the competency framework developed by the research team, and eventually recognising the gaps of the existing competencies through a competency audit. To cover the existing lacunas in the built environment competencies, the research team have come up with 14 policy recommendations including considering contextual differences, the role of stakeholders, well-being, and living standards of the displaced, enhancing social cohesion, and formulating legal and policy frameworks. The overall objective of these recommendations is to refine the boundaries of built environment professionals in empowering the displaced communities socially, culturally, and economically.