Key terms

Shelter
is defined as a “habitable covered space providing a secure and healthy environment with privacy and dignity for those residing within it”. Over time, this habitable space may evolve from an emergency to a durable shelter.227 Shelter assistance includes (and often combines) many modalities and solutions: shelter kits and tents and their distribution; cash-based assistance; rental support; provision of construction materials; labour; repairs; training and technical support; shelter and house construction, etc. Shelter assistance includes three distinct response phases: emergency, recovery and durable solutions. In reality these phases usually overlap, and shelter responses are planned and implemented as a continuous, uninterrupted effort. In conflict settings, the phases are less clearly defined, because people may experience numerous or prolonged displacements.
Settlements
are socially, economically, geographically and often politically and administratively defined entities in which human beings live and interact. In a humanitarian context, settlements can be classified according to their size, duration (temporality), condition, and legitimacy.228
Transitional shelters
include rapid, post-disaster household shelters made from materials that can be upgraded or re-used in more permanent structures or relocated from temporary to permanent locations. They aim to facilitate the transition of affected populations to more durable forms of shelter.229
Emergency shelter
refers to the provision of basic and immediate shelter support that is necessary to ensure the survival of crisis-affected persons. It includes rapid response solutions such as the distribution of shelter items (tarpaulins, ropes, kits and toolkits, tents, insulation materials), construction of temporary shelters, and distribution of household items.
Host families
may be friends or family, or local families, who offer temporary shelter in their own homes to persons displaced by a natural hazard or conflict. This is usually a short-term arrangement but may persist if the displacement becomes protracted.230
Non-Food Items
(NFIs) are items other than food used in humanitarian contexts when providing assistance to those affected by natural hazard or crisis. They may include mattresses, blankets, plastic sheets, hygiene kits, fans or heaters, etc.231

(See also the definitions of universal design and accessibility in the section on key concepts.)