Advancing the Sponge City Concept to Address Climate Vulnerability of the Ur-ban Poor in Cities in the Global South. An instrumental case study in Kampala

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2021-02-13
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en
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Abstract
Due to rapid urbanisation and climate change impacts, cities experience increasing occurrences of floods, droughts and heat stress. As the majority of low-income communities living in informal settlements occupy high-risk lands, these people are expected to become more vulnerable, while they often are already among the more marginalised groups in society. The sponge city concept has a strong potential to systematically address environmental problems associated with urbanisation and climate change. This sponge concept can be further enriched by including insights from other nature-based solutions in urban settings and locally-led action. Urban poor communities must be part of the process as they can provide information on the unique vulnerabilities and risks they face and help design effective solutions. By facilitating authentic dialogue between the formal urban governance and informal settlers, insider and outsider perspectives and local and scientific knowledge can be combined to create a deeper understanding of the prevalent problems in cities in the Global South. For this research, a sponge city project is proposed in Kampala, Uganda to address climate vulnerability of the urban poor through an instrumental case study. The research project uses a quick scan method to map and identify vulnerable places and people and the results of the case study in the city of Kampala are valuable for other cities in the Global South, where similar challenges are prevalent. Keywords: Climate Adaptation, Sponge City, Urban Poverty, Nature-based Solutions, Locally-led Action
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen