Informal settlements in urban coastal zones and adaptation to climatic variation

Many new urban migrants in developing countries and other poor families have settled in some of the most environmentally risky parts of cities.Many of these cities are located on or near the coast. These locations place these cities at greater risk from current and projected climate hazards. While the configuration of these settlements is indeed a key factor, the choice of location for housing of poor families or new migrants to the city is usually based on a complex set of economic and social choices (or possibly lack of choices). Slums are not always spontaneous and are often not the results of invasions or occupations. Many slum dwellers have purchased the land that they have built their houses on and have documents to prove it. Land use planning can substantially reduce the vulnerability of communities to water-based natural disasters if supported by reliable flood data that can be provided by water managers. Resilience to floods can be achieved by building infrastructure such as floodwalls; communities can be engaged in participatory planning approaches focused on dealing with increasing climatic and weather variability.