Poverty and climate change in urban Bangladesh (CLIMURB) : an analytical framework.

Abstract

Around 40 percent of Bangladesh’s population are poor people for whom a variable and unpredictable climate can critically restrict livelihood options. This is true in rural and urban areas alike, but this study focuses on the latter. Urban poverty continues to be neglected in research, policy and action for climate change adaptation in the country. The study builds on three propositions: (i) poor urban communities are places where physical and socioeconomic vulnerability coincide; (ii) urban areas are exposed to three forms of climate change impact: rapid-onset events, gradual-onset processes, and cascade effects; and (iii) poor urban people are already adapting to emergent climate change impacts by actively developing various practices. The analytical framework places a strong emphasis on poor people’s adaptation practices in order to understand their agency, cultural resources and economic strategies and the structural factors that both support and constrain their agency.

Citation

Roy, M.; Guy, S.; Hulme, D.; Jahan, F. Poverty and climate change in urban Bangladesh (CLIMURB) : an analytical framework. BWPI, University of Manchester, UK (2011) 44 pp. ISBN 9781907247477 [BWPI working paper, 148]

Poverty and climate change in urban Bangladesh (CLIMURB) : an analytical framework.

Published 1 January 2011