Responding to climate change in contexts of urban poverty and informality
Our understanding of climate change impacts and vulnerability in urban centres has grown rapidly in recent years, as has the number of cities developing and implementing plans to respond to the challenges of climate change.
More recently, there has been an increase in attention paid to the particular issues associated with informal settlements and climate change. This is essential because of the rapid expansion of low-income neighbourhoods in cities throughout the global South, and because many of these settlements are in locations exposed to climate-related hazards.
This Environment and Urbanization Brief looks at the nature of climate impacts in these contexts, describes adaptation efforts that support community upgrading and contribute to the wellbeing of residents, and argues for new mechanisms of financing interventions in this space.
The growing international awareness of cities as priority sites for climate action needs to be combined with a focus on the priorities and potential of low-income residents in order to achieve climate adaptation that leaves no urban citizens behind.
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Available at https://www.iied.org/10872iied