Arrangement Characteristics of Temporary Relief Facilities: A Case Study of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Using Space Syntax Modeling

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative assessment of the spatial placement characteristics of temporary disaster relief facilities that were built after the Sewol ferry disaster. Among space syntax analysis indicators, we selected control value, global real relation asymmetry (RRA), local RRA, and intelligibility to use in this study. We also assessed each relief facility's accessibility by facility type and use of spatial openness. As a result of our analysis of 193 relief facilities that were classified into 9 facility types, we discovered that the types requiring control over who could access them due to their facility characteristics had RRA values confirming that such facilities used space appropriately. Furthermore, most of the facility types, including the types needing openness or awareness, showed results that were appropriate for each assessment indicator. Our study is the first to examine relief facilities, whose placements are often temporary and expedient in response to large-scale disasters, with the lens of spatial characteristics analysis. The assessment methodology used in this study can be generalized, applied regardless of region, and used as a placement plan for future temporary relief facilities.