City Slums
Inhabitants of city slums are at extreme risk to climate change. Slums grow at a rapid pace because of in-migration of people from disaster prone areas, and growing poverty in rural areas and more opportunities in urban areas.
The growth rate can be almost double the average population increase. However, slums grow unplanned leaving little space for drainage, water supply and waste management, as well as green areas with trees to reduce heat waves. These areas also are often in marginalized, exposed, and/or low lying locations, already susceptible to floods and waterlogging. Especially during annual monsoons or rainy seasons, slum areas easily overflow with water and sewage from unsafe toilets, and litter blocks drains which overflow. This has severe consequences for the health and well-being of already vulnerable inhabitants. People also do not live in proper shelters but in shacks, on plots that often are not owned by themselves, with little incentives to upgrade and maintain the area. Inhabitants are often illiterate, do not feel empowered, and do not know and lack information on how to demand help from the local government.
Slums often arise because they are closely located to jobs in the city, and therefore relocation of slums and their inhabitants is often difficult.
Articles
Slum upgrading
Successful slum upgrading exists, which addresses the multiple challenges in slums, including land ownership and the linked system of drainage - water supply and waste management.
For example, WSUP, and Architects without borders have managed to upgrade slums in Maputo and elsewhere. Read about it here in their new report.
Other lessons learnt will soon be published here.