Earthquake recovery of historic buildings: exploring cost and time needs Fatima M. Al-Nammari Assistant Professor, Department of Planning, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan and Michael K. Lindell Professor, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, United States Disaster recovery of historic buildings has rarely been investigated even though the available literature indicates that they face special challenges. This study examines buildings’ recovery time and cost to determine whether their functions (that is, their use) and their status (historic or non- historic) affect these outcomes. The study uses data from the city of San Francisco after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to examine the recovery of historic buildings owned by public agencies and non-governmental organisations. The results show that recovery cost is affected by damage level, construction type and historic status, whereas recovery time is affected by the same variables and also by building function. The study points to the importance of pre-incident recovery planning, especially for building functions that have shown delayed recovery. Also, the study calls attention to the importance of further investigations into the challenges facing historic building recovery. Keywords: disaster damage, disaster recovery, historic buildings, Loma Prieta earthquake, reconstruction time and cost Introduction It has long been known (Geipel, 1982, 1991; Haas et al., 1978) and recently reasserted (Committee on Disaster Research in the Social Sciences, 2006) that long-term recovery has received insufficient attention compared to other phases of disaster. Conservation of cultural resources after disasters has also received little attention although studies have shown that historic buildings face special challenges (Blair- Tyler and Kristiansson, 1999 ; Eadie, 1991, 1998; Eichenfield, 1996 ; Merritt, 1990). Conservation is defined by the International Committee of Monuments and Sites as a process of looking after a place to retain its cultural significance (Australia ICOMOS, 1998, article 1.4). Sustainable recovery requires that an effort is made to ensure that cultural resources are maintained for future generations (NHRAIC, 2001). Therefore, investigating the recovery of historic buildings in comparison to non- historic buildings is important to enhance sustainable recovery, since it informs decision makers of the status quo, ascertains whether historic buildings are facing particular challenges, and identifies the areas in need of attention. In addition to its historic status, a building’s recovery time and cost are determined by its function. Specifically, a building’s function and its patterns of space occupancy tend to determine its spatial proportions, construction type (design and materials) and floor area. Also, the criticality of a building’s occupancy determines its code doi:10.1111/j.0361-3666.2008.01083.x Disasters, 2009, 33(3): 457-481. © 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2009. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK฀and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA