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David Dodman, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, University of Rotterdam

Preparing cities – particularly those in low- and middle-income countries – to face the multiple intersecting challenges of the coming decades will require significant rethinking of how urban areas are built, governed, and lived in. But many of these alternative visions for the future take little account of the infrastructure, housing and livelihoods currently found in low-income or informal neighbourhoods; or the ways in which turning these visions into reality can erode or enhance social, environmental and climate justice. 

In this presentation David will focus on the urban impacts of the global climate emergency, and assess the emerging implications of adaptation and mitigation responses that seek to tackle this. By looking at the specific cases of physical infrastructure, natural infrastructure, informal housing, and informal livelihoods, he explores the trade-offs and unintended consequences of policies and practices to tackle climate change. The presentation will conclude with identifying alternative ways to set and implement priorities for climate resilient development in the large and growing unplanned settlements in cities in the Global South.

David is a Visiting Fellow at the Urban Institute in 2025. Read his profile here.