DPU Working Paper - No. 137

Adaptation for the Urban Poor: Assessing the Tensions in the Climate Change and Urban Poverty Reduction Debates

Author: Joyce Wei Ka Lee

Publication Date: 2008

The vulnerability of the urban poor to climate change is not articulated in adaptation efforts due to tensions in the way climate change adaptation and urban poverty reduction efforts have been framed within the policy arena. At the local level, the impact of climate change on the urban poor is evident. For example, the impact of flooding, landslides and storms in urban centres like Mumbai, Manila and Durban in the past few years have revealed the vulnerability of the urban poor living there. At the national and international level, there is a growing amount of research being conducted into adaptation to climate change.

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