Rethinking Urban Risk and Resettlement in the Global South (1st)

Environmental changes have significant impacts on people'slives and livelihoods, particularly the urban poor and those living in informalsettlements. In an effort to reduce urban residents' exposure to climate changeand hazards such as natural disasters, resettlement programmes are becomingwidespread across the Global South. While resettlement may reduce a region'sfuture climate-related disaster risk, it often increases poverty andvulnerability, and can be used as a reason to evict people from areasundergoing redevelopment.

A collaboration between the Bartlett Development PlanningUnit at UCL, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and the Latin AmericanSocial Science Faculty, Rethinking UrbanRisk and Resettlement in the Global South collates the findings from 'ReducingRelocation Risks', a research project that studied urban areas across India, Uganda,Peru, Colombia and Mexico. The findings are augmented with chapters by researcherswith many years of insight into resettlement, property rights and evictions, whooffer cases from Monserrat, Cambodia, Philippines and elsewhere.

The contributors collectively argue that the processes formaking and implementing decisions play a large part in determining whetheroutcomes are socially just, and examine various value systems and strategiesadopted by individuals versus authorities. Considering perceptions of risk, thevolume offers a unique way to think about economic assessments in the contextof resettlement and draws parallels between different country contexts to comparefully urbanised areas with those experiencing urban growth. It also provides anopportunity to re-think how disaster risk management can better address theaccumulation of urban risks through urban planning.