Social belonging and adaptation process after a disasterin the context of place experience: The case of theFebruary 6 earthquake in Antakya district, Hatay province

In recent times, earthquakes have posed a significant risk for Turkey, leading to physical (loss of life, injuries, structural damage), economic (direct, indirect, and secondary financial losses), and social and psychological (disruption of social relations, trauma, adaptation processes) problems. Observing and identifying the needs and experiences of disaster victims in relation to their living spaces and psychological dynamics after an earthquake is important from the perspective of disaster sociology. In this context, the aim of this study was to examine the post-disaster shelter experiences and the processes of participation in the production of space among individuals residing in Antakya, Hatay after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes of February 6, 2023. To this end, I conducted a study in Antakya based on qualitative research methods. Using a phenomenological design, I conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 31 people—17 women and 14 men. I employed reflexive thematic analysis to interpret the data obtained from the interviews. Through in vivo codes that directly reflected participants' circumstances and expressions about the future, process codes that described the acts of struggle encountered during the housing process, and descriptive codes that summarized the situations faced after the earthquake, I carried out the analysis process. Based on these analyses, I identified five themes: loss of trust in interactions with institutions, challenges in the sheltering process, economic difficulties, paradoxes in psychosocial relationships, and the loss of urban fabric and anxiety about the future. These themes reveal the problems disaster victims experience regarding the right to the city, as well as the practices of spatial belonging they develop during this process. In the study, I sought to demonstrate that disaster is not merely physical destruction, but a complex process that reveals multilayered relationships. In a country like Turkey, where fault lines have devastating impacts, it is crucial for disaster management policies to adopt a participatory approach, placing individuals' spatial belongings and socio-cultural needs at the center.