Reframing Cyclone Shelters through Human Security in Community-Based Disaster Response: Protection, Participation, and Governance Dynamics in Humanitarian and Climate-Induced Disasters

Abstract

Bangladesh has achieved substantial reductions in cyclone mortality through investments in early warning, the Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP), and multipurpose cyclone shelters. Yet governance failures erode trust and prevent equitable access for distinct groups of women, older persons, persons with disabilities, and others. Evidence from coastal communities reveals that sheltering systems can still reproduce insecurity as a result of overcrowding, poor water and sanitation facilities, limited privacy, uneven accessibility, and governance failures that undermine trust and equity of access for women, older persons, persons with disabilities, and other groups. This paper re-examined cyclone shelters in the coastal regions of Bangladesh as socio-spatial institutions of community-based disaster response. Also, it applied a human security lens- protection, participation, and governance to compare two models of cyclone shelters in the region. These two models were government-managed multipurpose shelters and community design-led shelters with Friendship NGO support. Using a qualitative, secondary-data comparative case study approach, the paper synthesizes peer-reviewed literature, policy documents, and humanitarian/NGO reports and triangulates findings with secondary empirical evidence on shelter accessibility, use, and management. The analysis finds that government shelters are highly effective in mitigating or preventing damage to human lives from natural and human-induced disasters but often deliver uneven human security due to standardized designs and centralized management. Shelters that are driven by the community or design show how participatory planning in combination with everyday use and locally legible accountability mechanisms can improve dignity and utilization, although Sustainability and scaling remain challenges. To make shelter systems inclusive, accountable, and people-centered, this paper concludes with governance recommendations and policy.