Cyclone Kristine accentuates the necessity of the RURBANISE project

Our thoughts are with our RURBANISE partners as tropical cyclone Kristine causes severe flooding and damage across the Philippines resulting in death, injuries and leaving thousands of people displaced following landslides and torrential rainfall.

Credit_Cheryl Ramalho
GettyImages-1330222426_Cheryl Ramalho

RURBANISE - Building resilience in the context of rapid urbanization: a view from informal settlements in the Philippines - is a 3.5-year project funded through the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE). The project aims to strengthen effective responses for climate adaptation and resilience that acknowledge the life experiences and capacities of residents of informal settlements in the Philippines in a changing context of urbanization.

On 22 October 2024 Professor Vanesa Castán Broto, attended an online team meeting to discuss the research plans for work package 2 (WP2) that focusses on the governance context, and which Vanesa is the lead. The team discussed how WP2 connects with the other work packages and identified that at this stage of the research, climate justice is about who benefits, who is impacted and who has the power.

The research framework for WP2 will consider:

  1. land tenure and land management (how does access to land mitigate urban vulnerability? / What are the measures to facilitate access to land?)
  2. financing and resources (how to make sure resources reach communities?)
  3. implementation (how to translate projects into tangible wellbeing improvements for communities?)

Interviews will be conducted with national and local government officials and partner communities to provide comparative analysis of government policies and community initiatives. Vanesa will travel to the Philippines in early 2025 to continue drive forward the work. 

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