Flooding and managing social vulnerability in Semarang : Access to information and social vulnerability in flood prone neighbourhood Kemijen

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2013-07-10

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en

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Semarang, Indonesia is one of the sinking cities in the tropics. Mainly because of the extensive and still growing withdrawal of groundwater the ground is getting lower and lower each year. Especially low lying, coastal areas in Semarang are suffering from land subsidence. These areas are increasingly plagued by several kinds of floods. Consequently inhabitants living in the coastal area of Semarang can be seen as being vulnerable. One of these coastal neighbourhoods is Kemijen. Kemijen is one of the less prosperous neighbourhoods within the coastal area. An important way individuals and local communities use to intervene in their degree of vulnerability is using their access to resources. Besides material resources, knowledge and information are important resources for local inhabitants to manage their vulnerable positions. Access to information and education are increasingly seen as driving forces in the development of vulnerable communities. Instead of focusing on the technical aspects of land subsidence this research focuses on the inhabitants living in the suffering areas. By placing the local inhabitants at the centre stage of the research the social differentiation of social vulnerability and access to information is taken seriously. The following research question is derived in order to do so: How do local inhabitants in Kemijen use their knowledge and access to information to manage their vulnerable positions?

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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen