Climate Smart Risk Reduction in Urban Areas: A Review of factors for integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation within the context of urban Resilience

Abstract

In recent years, the drawbacks of parallel systems in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) have been acknowledged in professional and academic communities, where the need for integration of the two fields in connection to development has been stressed. In this regard, the concept of resilience as an antithesis of risks has also been considered. In this study, a scoping study identified and summarized the challenges and facilitating measures for improving the integration of DRR and CCA in support of urban resilience. As the main measures facilitating the integration of DRR and CCA, the results indicated different aspects, including developing a shared policy vision, developing multi-level, cross-sectoral collaboration, as well as developing communication channels and flexible funding mechanisms and legislation. The results also revealed the lack of a coherent perspective and definition on the integration of DRR and CCA. Further, the findings of the scoping study were used as an analytical lens and basis for a content analysis of a guiding document and six city resilience strategies developed in the 100 Resilient Cities movement. The content analysis found that many of the measures for integration were considered in the cities’ resilience strategies. However, there is a need to put more focus on the legislation and funding mechanisms in strategies. Moreover, the generic property of the measures makes them relevant for the integration of various fields and could not be considered as specific to DRR and CCA integration. The study highlighted the need to develop a nexus of relevant fields where urban planning could be a core and catalyst for the integration of DRR and CCA in support of urban resilience.

Popular Abstract

In recent decades, cities are experiencing more climatic risks compared to past, and climate change is assigned as the main contributor to increasing the frequency and severity of disasters. As a result, two fields of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation are receiving more attention in scientific and professional spheres. The fact that the two fields have been developed separately and operate in isolation from each other highlights the need for integration of the two fields in connection to urban resilience. To this end, there is a need to identify facilitating factors for the integration of DRR and CCA in urban areas and to explore how those factors could be implemented in urban resilience practices.
Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation both have the common aim to decrease the exposure and vulnerability to climate-based disasters. They are also connected to the concept of resilience as the antithesis for all kinds of risks. Resilience city has the capacity to survive, adapt, and grow facing to shocks and stresses.
In the face of increasing disasters (especially) climatic disasters, two fields of DRR and CCA have received more attention in recent decades in global and local levels. Cities as the main contributors to risks and as the settlements of more than 60 percent of the world population in 2050 are getting more highlighted in the forefront of risks.
Some say that there is a need to make two fields of DRR and CCA connected, to reduce the waste of time and resources in the two different communities of practice. In this study, it was recognized that when people are talking about the integration of fields, they may have different viewpoints. Some argue that the two fields need to be merged into one; while others believe that there is a need to keep the independence of fields to let them develop their expertise and particular solution to climatic and generic risks. The last group focuses on increasing the interaction between the two fields and harmonizing their efforts.
The problem gets complicated when the issue is discussed within the urban development context, where other fields from social, economic, environmental, and physical aspects need to be considered.
The research tried to find answers to what are the factors supporting the integration of the two fields?
The academic sphere is responding to the necessity of integration, by the discussion on the challenges for integration, similarities, and differences of the two fields. They propose solutions to overcome the challenges of integrating DRR and CCA in urban areas. However, it seems the main focus on the required factors for integration needs to be framed.
The study tries to identify, and summarize the challenges for integration of the two fields and the facilitating factors for overcoming those challenges. The main findings of the study regarding enabling factors for integrating DRR and CCA cover different aspects including developing a shared policy vision between DRR, CCA, developing coordination and partnerships among DRR, CCA, and urban development fields, adopting multi-level and cross-sectoral planning, etc.
The next question is how the suggested factors are being translated into practice?
The study used the identified measures in the first step to scrutinize documents of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) movement, which is one of the popular initiatives supporting 100 cities around the world to develop their resilience strategy. The study analyzed the resilience strategy of six member cities in 100RC, including Athens, Amman, Bristol, New Orleans, Rotterdam, and Vejle. The findings of the analysis show that most of the facilitating measures for integration had been addressed in the documents of the 100RC movement. However, there is a need to highlight legislation and funding aspects as the prerequisite points for implementing the suggested enabling factors in practice. Also, since most of the facilitating measures for integrating DRR and CCA and urban resilience are generic factors, there is a need to consider a balanced extent to develop a nexus where the most relevant fields are included. This study focused on the documents of 100RC, the further analysis on the whole process of developing the resilience strategy can provide more in-depth insights on how the integration of DRR and CCA in urban areas could be implemented in practice.
Fariba Toufani, Lund, 2019

• author: Toufani, Fariba
• supervisor: Peter Månsson
• organization: Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
• course: VBRM15 20191
• year: 2019
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation, Integration, Urban Resilience, 100 Resilient Cities
• language: English
• id: 8982371
• date added to LUP: 2019-06-13 10:40:59
• date last changed: 2019-06-13 10:40:59