Rebuilding the identifiable city: a trauma–informed framework for shelter, recovery and urban identity after earthquakes

Purpose This paper aims to develop a trauma-informed built-environment framework for post-earthquake recovery in seismic cities, connecting safety, shelter, urban identity, sensory continuity, participation and belonging. Design/methodology/approach An integrative conceptual review synthesises scholarship on post-disaster shelter, housing reconstruction, urban resilience, place identity, environmental psychology, trauma-informed design and neuroarchitecture. Targeted searching, concept-led source selection and thematic synthesis identify design-relevant principles for phase-based, culturally legible and ethically grounded recovery. Findings The synthesis identifies five linked recovery priorities: preparedness, acute stabilisation, transitional recovery, identity repair and long-term resilience and evaluation. Shelter and reconstruction can support recovery by integrating physical protection with privacy, social networks, cultural legibility, spatial continuity, governance capacity, equity and everyday routines. Research limitations/implications The paper presents no primary empirical data, clinical assessment or post-occupancy evaluation. Future research should test the framework through participatory, mixed-method and ethically sensitive studies in earthquake-affected cities. Practical implications The framework guides architects, planners, humanitarian actors and policymakers in connecting emergency shelter with phased recovery, identity repair, equity and implementation indicators. Social implications Identity-sensitive reconstruction can support dignity, perceived safety, social reconnection, collective memory and the processing of loss where displacement has weakened familiar urban relationships. Originality/value The paper integrates post-disaster shelter, urban identity, environmental psychology, trauma-informed design and neuroarchitecture within an operational recovery framework for seismic cities.