Social challenges faced by relocated families; a case study on “mihindu senpura” housing complex

Abstract

Social Challenges faced by families due to relocation needs to acquire great attention from the society. Though there were relocations, happening in the past, current relocation programs administered by the government are new to the Sri Lankan context and thus no significant research was conducted on the methods and issues due to such relocation projects. Therefore, careful intervention to identify those issues is highly needed. The objective of the research is developed as, to determine social challenges faced by families after relocation, considering a case study Housing complex of “Mihindu Senpura”. Based on the thorough literature review conducted, a solid methodology was developed to address the objectives of the research. With purposive and convenient sampling techniques, a total sample of 72 residents were questioned, through three data collection tools namely, questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. As research methods, qualitative and quantitative data techniques were used. As for the findings of the research through qualitative and quantitative analysis, it has been identified that the main challenges faced by the residents from relocated families are income generation; lack of space in the housing units; safety & security; neighbors, relationships & belonging ness and leisure & other cultural activities. As for the future researches, it is needed to recommend that more social researches need to be conducted on the topics such as mega scale relocation and the issues encountered, since there are number of relocation projects in pipeline