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In this paper, we develop and apply a multi-dimensional vulnerability assessment framework for understanding the impacts of climate change-induced hazards in Sub- Saharan African cities. The research was carried out within the European/African FP7 project CLimate change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa, which investigated climate change-induced risks, assessed vulnerability and proposed policy initiatives in five African cities. Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) was used as a main case with a particular focus on urban flooding. The multi-dimensional assessment covered the physical, institutional, attitudinal and asset factors influencing urban vulnerability. Multiple methods were applied to cover the full range of vulnerabilities and to identify potential response strategies, including: model-based forecasts, spatial analyses, document studies, interviews and stakeholder workshops. We demonstrate the potential of the approach to assessing several dimensions of vulnerability and illustrate the complexity of urban vulnerability at different scales: households (e.g., lacking assets); communities (e.g., situated in low-lying areas, lacking urban services and green areas); and entire cities (e.g., facing encroachment on green and flood-prone land). Scenario modeling suggests that vulnerability will continue to increase strongly due to the expected loss of agricultural land at the urban fringes and loss of green space within the city. However, weak institutional commitment and capacity limit the potential for strategic coordination and action. To better adapt to urban flooding andthereby reduce vulnerability and build resilience, we suggest working across dimensions and scales, integrating climate change issues in city-level plans and strategies and enabling local actions to initiate a ‘learning-by-doing’ process of adaptation.

We investigate the use of social capital in the form of social ties in the face of commercialization, urbanization and climate change. While discussions of social capital often focus on whether people possess certain social ties or not our study shows that it is also necessary to consider under what circumstances people can make use of their ties. The use of different kinds of ties varies with context and is not as clear cut as suggested in the literature. For example families closer to the city are in a better position to take advantage of new opportunities. Using a combination of ties people have engaged in high-input agriculture, business and paid employment. Diversification of livelihoods has made many people less sensitive to climate change, but this does not translate into decreased vulnerability for the community. Intensive agriculture and lower community cohesion seems unsustainable in the long run. Thus, decreased vulnerability at the household level may come at the price of increased vulnerability at higher levels and negative consequences for the wider social–ecological system. Evaluating vulnerability and the role of social ties depends on the unit and sector of analysis, and the temporal and spatial scale., We investigate the use of social capital in the form of social ties in the face of commercialization, urbanization and climate change. While discussions of social capital often focus on whether people possess certain social ties or not our study shows that it is also necessary to consider under what circumstances people can make use of their ties. The use of different kinds of ties varies with context and is not as clear cut as suggested in the literature. For example families closer to the city are in a better position to take advantage of new opportunities. Using a combination of ties people have engaged in high-input agriculture, business and paid employment. Diversification of livelihoods has made many people less sensitive to climate change, but this does not translate into decreased vulnerability for the community. Intensive agriculture and lower community cohesion seems unsustainable in the long run. Thus, decreased vulnerability at the household level may come at the price of increased vulnerability at higher levels and negative consequences for the wider social–ecological system. Evaluating vulnerability and the role of social ties depends on the unit and sector of analysis, and the temporal and spatial scale.

Many cities around the world are exploring green infrastructures with landscape-based systems as solutions to complement the limited capacity or extend the conventional water systems. In addition to improving flood protection, these landscape-based systems can support water supply, groundwater recharge and provide additional ecosystem services to the benefit of the citizens’ everyday life. Cities in Africa, like Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dar es Salam, Tanzania, do not have adequate city-wide conventional urban water systems like centralized, pipe-based water supply, drainage and sanitation systems. Therefore, an option to explore if these cities can leapfrog to landscape-based stormwater management and simultaneously provide selected additional benefits is wanting. Three pathways are identified for this leapfrogging, and are under testing in the WGA-project

Small towns are often considered as losing out in the current trend towards urban development. However, research from around Europe shows a great diversity of small town development, including successful development trajectories despite geographical disadvantages. Investigations into this are predominately done in the context of economic development and urban systems, but such approaches fail to explain why a number of small towns that are not centrally located near a metropolitan region are not in decay. This paper examines how the restructuring of retail and service sectors, demographic composition, residential migration, social organisation and community engagement form and affect small town (1000–5000 inhabitants) development patterns in Denmark and specific place-based endowments. The study is carried out with mixed methods, comprising a quantitative analysis of development trends, complemented by qualitative case studies in six small towns. Our findings show how favourable development paths are a combination of a positive development in population, provision of daily commodities and attractive housing, and a high number of local voluntary social organisations. Introducing the concept of ‘residential urbanism’, the paper discusses the extent to which a residentially driven urban development can compensate for the generally unfavourable regional development context

The risk of flooding in urban areas could be better approached by complementing conventional sewer systems with sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) for stormwater management. This may be the case for developing world cities like Dar es Salaam with incomplete sewer services, as well as cities like Copenhagen with fully developed sewer systems. This paper explores some theories relevant to understanding how the implementation of SUDS may be one option for supporting a transition towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM). Using interviews, document analysis and observation, a comparison of the opportunities and barriers for the implementation of SUDS in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen is presented. The results indicate that a bottom-up approach in Dar es Salaam is important, with the community level taking the lead, while in Copenhagen the top-down approach currently employed is promising. The ability of the institutional frameworks of both cities to support the implementation of SUDS is also discussed., The risk of flooding in urban areas could be better approached by complementing conventional sewer systems with sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) for storm-water management. This may be the case for developing world cities like Dar es Salaam with incomplete sewer services, as well as cities like Copenhagen with fully developed sewer systems. This paper explores some theories relevant to understanding how the implementation of SUDS may be one option for supporting a transition towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM). Using interviews, document analysis and observation, a comparison of the opportunities and barriers to the implementation of SUDS in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen is presented. The results indicate that a bottom-up approach in Dar es Salaam is important, with the community level taking the lead, while in Copenhagen the top-down approach currently employed is promising. The ability of the institutional frameworks of both cities to support the implementation of SUDS is also discussed.

Flood and drought brought by climate change urge world cities to develop towards resiliency. Using green infrastructure and urban landscape for flood resilience is being implemented in, among other places, Denmark. African cities are vulnerable to flood and drought, with their fast urbanization and relatively low infrastructure development. Research collaboration between Danish and African partners can transfer knowledge and support the sustainable development of African cities

Resilience of urban structures towards impacts of a changing climate is one of the emerging tasks that cities all over the world are facing at present. Effects of climate change take many forms, depending on local climate, spatial patterns, and socioeconomic structures. Cities are only just beginning to be aware of the task, and some time will pass before it is integrated into mainstream urban governance. This chapter is based on work in progress. It covers urban governance and planning aspects of climate change adaptation as studied in the CLUVA project (CLimate change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa), as well as some experiences from Denmark. Focus is on the responses and capacities of urban authorities, strengths and weaknesses of the efforts, data needs and possible ways forward. The chapter concludes that many adaptation activities are taking place in the CLUVA case cities, but that they need integration at city level to form strategic adaptation plans. A combined rational and pragmatic approach is advisable as is involvement of stakeholders in the production of relevant knowledge

The deliverable introduces a map of the vulnerability to flooding in Dar es Salaam at the resolution of the finest administrative level (the subward/mtaa; comprising approx. 5-15 000 residents). Overlaying a hydrological model, representing the areas of the city most likely to become flooded, the high-risk areas may be identified. That is, where the flood-prone areas coincide with the highly vulnerable subwards. The deliverable explores in a step-by-step manner how to capture, measure and process spatial data of multiple dimensions and integrating them into a Geographical Information System (GIS). The overall approach is a spatial multiple criteria evaluation (S-MCE) process, following a series of steps, whereby the most important multi-dimensional indicators of vulnerability to flooding are selected, measured and analyzed. Eventually the output is presented as a product in one, aggregated dimension, easy to comprehend for policy- and decision-makers. The deliverable also presents how the stakeholders of a city are introduced to this process at an early stage, and how they as an expertise group, are providing with vital information and insight, that give the study relevance and are facilitating the subsequent steps of the methodology. The preceding Deliverable 3.3 compiled a comprehensive list of relevant indicators of vulnerability to flooding. This deliverable (D3.4) takes off from there with the selection and weighting of indicators by the stakeholders. Subsequently the stakeholders provide valuable input to (proxy) variables to the indicators and how they may be measured. An important conclusion from these participatory processes is that the selected set of most important vulnerability indicators is highly distinct in space (site-specific). The stakeholder interactions in Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa show that the selected indicators are only partially overlapping, which would discourage from generating a common subset of indicators for all flood-pr

The deliverable serves three purposes: First it lists core measures brought forward in literature and guidelines on how to make developing cities more resilient to climate change as well as some necessary conditions for effective implementation. Second it presents strategic measures for climate change adaptation based on stakeholder interactions and interviews in the two CLUVA cities: Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa. Third it draws together the main points in recommendations on data needs and process for how to work towards more resilient cities. The deliverable combines the identification of strategic measures for the case cities of Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa (deliverable 3.7) with the making of recommendations for data needs and process (deliverable 3.8). Climate change affects a city in a broad sense and therefore measures must be taken within several policy fields. Core measures are: to improve land use management and planning; upgrade urban drainage, better waste- and stormwater management and strengthen environmental planning. These measures must be combined with the associated measures of: improved solid waste management; housing policies to promote alternatives to settlements in vulnerable areas; informal area policies and regularization; disaster management policies especially resettlement strategies also including livelihood restoration and supporting people in vulnerable areas to adapt. Because of the complexity of climate change adaptation requires coordination both vertically from the international to local level and horizontally across sectors, with private sector actors, with NGOs, universities etc. Champions to drive adaptation as well as awareness raising and involvement are key factors. Adaptation also requires many different types of scientific and local knowledge. While resilience will be increased if more measures are taken, it is not realistic that all measures can be implemented. Therefore an importan

This paper is based on findings of a project investigating the challenges and prospects of Danish service towns with 1000 to 5000 inhabitants (Groth and Fertner 2013). Small towns in general are often associated with being losers of globalisation and suffering under urban and economic decline. Furthermore, in Denmark, many of these towns lost their municipal functions due to an administrative reform, carried out in 2007. However, several small towns seem to be resilient to a general decline. They have stable or even positive development in certain aspects of societal development like demography, participation and associations, or retail provision. They are not undergoing processes of shrinkage but rather of restructuring. In this paper we will analyse and discuss the factors underlying this development and conclude on relevant factors for social resilience. In particular we look at the development of 250 small towns in Denmark. We apply quantitative analyses of register data, showing the current demographic development of these towns. The first results show that many towns have a stable population development, though with an increasing share of the elderly. The analysis of service provision also shows the persistence of basic services in small towns, especially those located in the periphery. Of special importance is the retailing sector on the one hand concentrating non-food to larger cities but, on the other hand, locating shops focusing on daily commodities in small towns. In 6 case towns we analyse social networks, showing a wide variation of activity in local associations in the various towns. The associations and voluntary capital in the towns lay the foundation for what everyday life can be lived there as they organise common social events, cultural and sports. The associations can also play an important part in more development oriented issues as it is them that communicate with larger municipalities on issues of local concern and they fundraise thr

This master thesis is an enquiry into the sacred landscape based on a case study of the Buddhist pilgrimage site Bodh Gaya, located in North East India. The study in India was carried out during the winter of 2012/13. The main attraction at the pilgrimage is the Mahabodhi temple complex, which symbolises the place where the Buddha is believed to have gained enlightened 531 B.C. Bodh Gaya is a unique place with a profound spiritual context and does not have many equivalents in the world. But still, the obvious sanctity of Bodh Gaya makes it a useful place to explore the sacred landscape. Landscapes that are considered sacred is an area not yet excessively researched within the context of landscape architecture, yet meaning is a desired quality in the urban landscape. This thesis looks into the meaning of the sacred landscape. In search of a deeper understanding of the sacred landscape, this thesis enquiries how one can define its mental and physical boundaries and investigates the processes that constructs and maintains it. Finally the possibility to design a sacred landscape is explored, both theoretically and practically through designing a conceptual landscape. Three landscape analysis methods were used to explore the case study site; Kevin Lynch analysis, Gordon Cullen’s Serial vision and Malene Hauxner analysis. In addition to this, six qualitative interviews with Buddhist were performed and a survey with visitors was conducted. As background to the case study theories around place, the existing research on landscape architecture and sanctity and an overview of the Buddhist view upon nature is presented. In the landscape analysis, a colourful landscape full of contrasts takes form. The sacred landscape at Bodh Gaya is a complex phenomenon and not easily defined. The physical boundaries can seem obvious at first site, as the walls of the temple compound, but the results indicate that it is not that simple. Physical symbols of sanctity can be fo

In the last decades the migration from the centre of Copenhagen to peripheral areas increased significantly. Many municipalities would like to gain from this development. Often they try to attract families. This article focuses on another group, the midlife group, which on average moves further away and possibly starts a business. We suggest some ideas, how municipalities can support this development.

Most businesses have gone through many changes especially to minimize commuting to urban areas and have put much effort into building up regional networks of simil

Udgivelsesdato: April

Udgivelsesdato: 2007