Urban Vulnerability and Climate Change in Africa

The book synthesizes results of CLUVA (CLimate Change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa), a large European Commission funded research project (2010-2013). The project aimed to develop a better understanding of the risks and impacts of climate change related hazards to African cities, assess their vulnerability to these risks by applying novel methods and tools and identify innovative strategies for planning and governance of African cities to increase their resilience. For the first time a systematic and groundbreaking study of vulnerability of African cities to climate change was applied in an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. The CLUVA project was unique in that it combined: A top-down perspective of climate change modeling with a bottom-up perspective of vulnerability assessment; quantitative approaches from engineering sciences and qualitative approaches of the social sciences; a novel multi-risk modeling methodology; strategic approaches to urban planning and green infrastructure planning with neighbourhood perspectives to adaptation. The book will broadly follow the approach taken in the CLUVA project. First, the combined pressures of urbanization and climate change on the African continent and the impacts these will have on cities will be presented. Then, the vulnerability of three main elements of the urban system is explored: built structures and infrastructures, urban ecosystems and people. Rich material from five case studies is provided to discuss in depth the factors that make these elements vulnerable to climate change and outline ways for increasing their adaptive capacity. The section is concluded by a chapter which presents a novel approach of multi-risk modeling as an aggregate measure for risk assessment of African cities. The next section is dedicated to the role of urban planning and governance for climate change adaptation, which is discussed from diverse perspectives. A final chapter synthesizes the different dimensions of the CLUVA project to draw overall conclusions and develop a perspective view on how urbanization and climate change can be coped with in African cities in the future. Leading researchers have been invited to contribute complementary chapters. Thus, the book should be of wide interest to scholars in the field of urban vulnerability and climate change adaptation.