Profiling informal settlements for disaster risks
Informal settlements, where mostly the urban poor reside, tend to be located in hotspots of natural hazards such as floods, fire, earthquakes and tsunamis. Conceptualizing a detailed risk profile, in the context of informal settlement characteristics presents a starting point to which the impacts posed by environmental hazards can be addressed effectively. This paper develops a theoretical framework through literature review coupling the concepts of “disaster hazards”, “vulnerability” and “informal settlements”.
The findings suggest that the policy environment (environmental/land use planning and communication) impacting the informal settlement characteristics (demographic, financial, social/poetical and locational/environmental) is key to managing disaster risk profile in informal settlements. The paper concludes by identifying three theoretical propositions that can assist in disaster preparedness:
- Increasing population density increases hazard vulnerabilities in informal settlements;
- Vulnerability reduction should be the centre of policies and strategies for building resilience in informal settlements;
- Disaster risk communicated by a team of experts and community leaders increases positive reception from receivers in informal settlements.
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