Capacity Strengthening in Least Developed Countries for Adaptation to Climate Change (CLACC) Cities Studies

These studies by our CLACC partners provide a set of city level maps showing risks and vulnerability to climate change related extreme events and gradual changes. An explicit focus in the areas where there are few if any maps, they open dialogue with those living in these areas and help bring their concerns and priorities to the fore.

Urban Centres concentrate infrastructure to support economic activities and the needs of city dwellers. Population growth rates in most cities are higher than national growth rates, particularly in the developing and Least Developed Countries. City growth is expected to continue in the next few decades, both spatially and in terms of the number of economic activities concentrated in urban areas. Most cities have high numbers of poor people, whose vulnerability to climate change and other risks is high.

Most cities in developing countries have large backlogs in infrastructure provision – for instance large sections of their total area lack all weather roads, piped water supplies and storm and surface drains. In many cities existing infrastructure will not be able to withstand the adverse impacts of climate change, particularly where this involves changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme events such as cyclones, storm surges, floods, heat stress etc. Most cities in the Least Developed Countries do not provide basic services to a high proportion of their inhabitants let alone protection against adverse climate change impacts. It is common for between a third and half the entire population of cities to live in housing in informal settlements.

City development authorities or agencies normally conduct spatial city planning based on historical data and information. Climate change related extreme events and gradual changes are rarely considered in city planning or in designing infrastructure. There is also a lack of city level risk and vulnerability maps in the Least Developed Countries, that would facilitate awareness raising, planning and decision making processes if they existed. Indeed, in many cities, there are no detailed maps at all of large parts of the city – especially areas with informal settlements.