A Systematic Literature Review of Disability and Earthquake Studies: Understanding the Potential Contributions of Inclusive Design

Abstract

Disasters are situations that can drastically change our lives and daily routines on a temporary or permanent basis and can create new challenges in the short, medium or long term, depending on the scale of the disaster. Individuals’ psychological, sociological and physiological conditions are directly impacted when living spaces are affected by disasters. Research, which shows that persons with disability or special needs, children, elderly people, and so forth are more vulnerable to disasters, underlines the high importance of developing inclusive approaches and tools for the pre/during/post-disaster processes. This study examines the issue in the context of earthquakes—which are among the most damaging natural hazards—and disability, and explores the context and gaps of the topic and the issues that can be explored by the design/architecture disciplines, through conducting a systematic literature review study. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG