The Bank's Disaster Management Facility (DMF) and the Urban Cluster of the Latin America and Caribbean department (LCSFU) jointly commissioned this study in response to growing borrower demand for Bank assistance with housing reconstruction following natural disasters. The review examines the Bank's experience since 1980 in helping to finance some 37 housing reconstruction projects throughout the world, and suggests how constraints upon housing reconstruction assistance can be overcome, thereby stimulating and guiding further Bank involvement in this field.