Study title

The study focused on a pilot case in a vulnerable settlement in Mexico City with high levels of growth in the last two decades, as well as projections of migrations due to climate change. The research tested mechanisms for long-term sustainable processes of risk mitigation through engaging communities and organisations in a constructive ‘dialogue of knowledges’. The pilot case focused on the dwelling level, and engaged with local communities in the development of strategies and tools for monitoring, adaptation and communication. Through testing these strategies and technologies, the research explored how multi-level actors engage with climate change-related risks and the associated governance structures, such as the development of policy and norms, studying the interaction between technical, socio-cultural, economic, political and institutional factors. An upcoming special volume of the Proceedings of the British Academy on 'Urban Resilience and Climate Change in Latin America' will detail some of the aspects of this research. The following methods were used in the selected pilot area: (1) Focus groups with residents in two areas in the neighbourhood exposed to different levels of flooding risk (2) 15 Semi-structured interviews with members of the community, including community leaders; and (3) 12 Semistructured interviews with key stakeholders in the public and third sectors in Mexico City.The sharp growth of Latin American cities in the last decades has led to an increase of vulnerable communities in informal settlements on land exposed to hazards. These are affected by climate change-related risks such as changes in surface, temperature, droughts, flooding, and more aggressive hurricanes, heightening the need to improve the resilience of such communities. Diseases associated with new atmospheric conditions are some of the consequences, further increasing the displacement of people towards cities. As urban areas expand, current levels of vulnerability,...