Resource information
Poor urban populations in Southern
cities are already experiencing the negative impacts of
changing weather patterns associated with climate change and
climate variability and future projections suggest that
these impacts will get worse. Severe weather patterns,
experienced as prolonged droughts, intense rainfall or wind
speed cause substantial damage to the assets and well-being
of city-dwellers, causing localized flooding, housing
damage, economic loss, and posing dangers to health and
educational achievement. Yet, severe weather events that do
not register as disasters on the national or international
screen are rarely addressed in the context of climate change
adaptation. Urban governments face a number of constraints
to effectively address and build resilience to severe
weather: a knowledge constraint (given the scarce evidence
of the impact of ongoing severe weather trends), in addition
to institutional and fiscal limitations. Since most climate
vulnerability research in urban centers has focused on
projections and capacity building for disaster events, city
adaptation plans, where developed, has also centered on
establishing disaster prevention and preparedness systems.
This note presents results from field studies of Mombasa,
Kenya, and Esteli in Nicaragua looking at the experience of
poor urban communities in relation to their changing
experience of weather and its impact on their lives. These
studies applied a participatory urban methodology by which
local city governments and the Non-governmental
Organizations (NGOs) and donors that support them - can
address adaptation and resilience to severe weather. It
finds that talking to poor urban communities is essential in
order to understand the vulnerability and adaptation
solutions to severe weather. It also notes that existing
financial mechanisms at the city level, including local and
community-based organizations, can be used to support
low-cost solutions that enhance the resilience of the most
vulnerable city-dwellers.
