Question: what do you do for a living?

George Foden answered on 28 Feb 2023:

I research the ways in which people rebuild their houses after big weather events and disasters like hurricanes, flooding, or earthquakes, and then try to find out how their housing affects their relationships with their neighbours and other people in their communities.

In the UK, we would be very unlikely to have a big disaster damage our houses, and when things like floods do happen people who have been affected will often get support from insurance companies and local builders to fix their houses. In other parts of the world though the storms and geological hazards like earthquakes or even volcanic eruptions can be a much bigger risk to houses, and sometimes people have to leave to get to safety, or have to rebuild their own homes by themselves. When that happens, humanitarian organisations will try to help them by providing shelter and other essential items like food, water, and clothes. I try to help those organisations to deliver their support in a better, more effective way through my research.