Planning for social outcomes

Abstract

There is usually no purposeful connection between the physical planning of refugee camps and the social outcomes for those living in these camps with each being treated separately by independent groups or more often the case by different organizations. And while there will be some exchange of information, such as the siting of a community office, the two disciplines remain separate and separated.

However, recent work by Mair et al. (Mair and Mair, 2003) suggests that there are potentially more links and connections than presently realized and certainly beyond the simple planning suggested above.

This paper presents the results of a field trial of an Opportunity Matrix for Sexual Violence Against Women and Children in Refugee Camps developed by Dugan (now Mair) et al. and applied for the first time in Ardamata Camp in El Geneinna, (the provincial capital of West Darfur) in June/July 2004. Although this was not a refugee situation but rather an internally displaced person (IDP) situation, the Opportunity Matrix (OM) can be applied in IDP situations as well.

The results from this field trial (albeit small) support Mair’s position that the physical and administrative environment can affect social outcomes. Whereas further field trials are necessary, the results show that planners need to better understand this linkage so as to bring about more effective planning changes for better social outcomes.