Site Typology

Broad Types of Collective Displacement Sites
 

Displaced people settle and seek assistance and protection in many different locations: in urban and rural areas, with host families and in rented housing, and in a variety of different types of temporary site (referred to as camp or camp-like settings or displacement sites). Temporary sites take a variety of forms: they can be planned or spontaneous, and grouped or scattered, depending on the setting and other factors. 

The following categorization of broad types of displacement site / camps and camp-like settings is used in the Camp Management Toolkit, the Minimum Standards for Camp Management, and the CCCM Cluster’s Global CCCM Training Package.

Sphere Handbook terminologies: The Sphere Handbook’s Shelter & Settlement section (2018) lists ‘settlement scenarios’ categorized by: non-displaced people, displaced people in dispersed settings such as rental arrangements, and displaced people in communal settings. The above types of temporary sites (camp and camp-like settings) fall into Sphere ‘communal settlement’ scenarios. The Sphere Handbook also lists characteristics of settlements, which are used as the basis of the Attributes Framework below.    

Defining Types of Sites

While broad types of camp and camp-like settings are listed above, the exact definitions of types of site vary and are often context specific. Further, terms used to refer to types of camps and camp-like settings can be sensitive and might differ significantly between responses.  

The CCCM Cluster should work with relevant actors to define types of displacement site and to standardise the terms used to describe them. This is sometimes referred to as the site typologies.  

Defining types of site – and standardising the terms used to refer to them – is important to:  Establish a common understanding of important site attributes (characteristics) 

• Ensure good communication through use of the same terminologies by different response actors  
• Inform operational response planning, with response modalities often differing between types of site  

Consulting relevant stakeholders 

The aim of defining site typologies is to have a common understanding of types of site among different actors. It is therefore important to identify and engage key stakeholders in the process of agreeing site definitions, to input expertise and ensure agreement and buy-in. These might include: 

• Government counterparts – taking into account existing government frameworks on displacement management and preferences on terminology 
• CCCM actors 
• IM & assessment actors – to align site definitions used in assessments and operational response  
• Other coordination actors, especially the Shelter Cluster, Protection Cluster, inter-agency coordination / OCHA, depending on the response and specifics of the sites 

Bear in mind local terminologies & translations: make sure that the translations of site typologies are appropriate in local languages, as well as aligned with existing terminologies. For example, following the earthquake in Turkiye in 2023 many displaced families were being hosted in self-settled sites. To support the humanitarian response, the TSS Sector (CCCM Cluster equivalent) worked to define the types of displacement site and used different terminologies for these sites in English and Turkish. In English, the sites were termed “informal settlements” - as this is a commonly-understood definition among international humanitarian actors. However, the direct translation of this into Turkish means ‘slum’, so a different Turkish term was used. This ensured the same understanding about these types of site (temporary in nature, and hosting IDP families) among international and national humanitarian actors and the government. 

Defining Attributes of Sites

If you are working to establish definitions of types of sites, it can be useful to start by defining key attributes (characteristics) of types of site in the context you are working in. These can be used to define what is or is not a displacement site, and to identify important differences and similarities between sites.  

Some attributes will form the basis of a definition of a type of site, and some might vary within a type of site. 

Below is an attributes framework that can be adapted to your context. You can use it to help describe the characteristics of different site types. An individual site can be of only one type (e.g. ‘collective centre’ or ‘formal camp’) but some attributes might be the same across different types of site, or differ within sites (e.g. ‘collective centres’ might have different shelter types e.g. municipal building or religious building).  

If useful for an operational response, you can choose to list attributes for individual sites – see the example below. 

One of the most important characteristics is often the population threshold - agreeing on the minimum number of displaced families living together collectively for a location to be considered a displacement site. 

Sample Attributes framework, to be adapted to the context. Categories can be mandatory or optional as relevant. 

Example of using an attributes framework for individual sites (optional use, if helpful for your context) 

Changing Definitions Over Time 

Attributes of displacement sites can change over time. From, for example, a situation of new displacement when sites are first settled and emergency assistance is provided, to sometimes years later when site infrastructure and services access may have significantly improved and durable solutions for families such as site integration are being sought. Site typologies and definitions might therefore need to be updated as changes occur.  

IM & Site Types

Using common definitions of site typologies is essential for coherence between assessments, IM, and operational work. You may therefore need to engage not only the CCCM Cluster IM team, but also IM and assessment actors such as REACH and IOM-DTM and the inter-cluster IM team in: 

• The procrRess of establishing site typologies, and/or  
• Integrating the definitions once agreed into assessment methodologies and databases. 

If population thresholds are used to define what is or is not considered a displacement site, or as a definition between types of site, it is particularly important to ensure that the same population thresholds are used by all IM / data collection actors.  

The definitions of types of sites should be reflected in site masterlists produced by the CCCM Cluster (see Toolkit Section 2. Information Management). When developing site masterlists , a unique ID must be assigned to each individual site, as sites can have multiple names, or names spelt differently. Ideally, these unique IDs should be used by all actors, especially IM actors, in the response. However, if it is unavoidable that other IM actors have their own lists of sites with their own unique identifiers, then a reconciliation method must be agreed upon. 

Common Operational Datasets (COD) are usually provided by the inter-cluster IM team / OCHA, referring to administrative areas by codes as well as names. Site masterlists should be integrated into the COD as relevant, or at least be inter-operable with them.

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