Informal settlements

How one group in Rio de Janeiro teamed up with researchers to adapt green roof technology for their community.

For low-income residents in African cities, the COVID-19 pandemic has often been experienced less as a health crisis and more in terms of the devastating socioeconomic, political and violent impacts arising from lockdown measures and other responses.

Informal settlements around the world have the least developed infrastructure, yet they continue to come together to build their resilience to shocks and disasters.

Informal settlements around the world have the least developed infrastructure, yet they continue to come together to build their resilience to shocks and disasters.

The study suggests that increasing temperatures under climate change are likely to be a significant risk to human health in Africa, as many cities may have similar features as Dar es Salaam, increasing the heat vulnerability of informal settlements.

A geographical information system on its own is not able to explain human factors behind flood vulnerability. South Africa’s laws make provision for using indigenous knowledge in reducing flood risk. But the use of this approach is still relatively low.