Climate Change Vulnerability in Southern African Cities: Building Knowledge for Adaptation

In recent decades, extreme rains and drought have struck urban regions in Africa like never before. Nevertheless, limited information is available on which to base development of early warning systems, identification of high-risk zones and formulation of local action plans. This book is about how to build the knowledge necessary for planning adaptation to climate change in Sub-Saharan cities. It brings together lessons learned from international development actions conducted by a number of scholars in disciplines ranging from meteorology and hydrogeology to urban planning and environmental management. Selected methods to assess the impacts of extreme weather and ecological stress are presented along with possible approaches to improve the adaptive capacity of Sub-Saharan cities through institutional measures at the local government level. The book is addressed to graduate students, researchers and practitioners interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to integrate climate change into applied research and development projects in urban Africa.

Maurizio Tiepolo is an Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His skills range from climate change risk mapping in urban and rural areas, regional development planning, monitoring and evaluation of local development plans, local taxation assessment and informal settlement regularization. Since 2003, he has designed and executed 10 development assistance projects for various multi or bilateral and decentralized organizations in Congo, Ecuador, Macedonia, Mozambique, Niger and Senegal.

Silvia Macchi is an Associate Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and has extensive experience in environmental and gender analysis of spatial planning and urban policies. Her long-standing research and practice in local and participatory sustainable development forms the basis of her current work on planning local initiatives for adaptation to climate change in Sub-Saharan cities.