Investigating urban risk accumulation in six countries in Africa

Author(s)
Compiled by Mark Pelling with contribution by David Satterthwaite
Publication language
English
Pages
16pp
Date published
01 Jun 2007
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Disaster preparedness, resilience and risk reduction, Disaster risk reduction, Urban
Countries
Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania
Organisations
African Urban Risk Analysis Network

Many disasters in Africa take place in urban areas, affecting millions of people each year. There is therefore an increasing need to understand how the risks from potential disasters develop in urban contexts, and to identify how locally owned processes can address these risks. To do this, the African Urban Risk Analysis Network (AURAN) has been formed by six African research institutions, with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and ProVention. Work programmes are under way in Accra, Algiers, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Saint Louis (Senegal) to identify:
?? the main disaster risks and who is most vulnerable to them;
?? the processes that lead to the accumulation of these risks, and how these are related to
environmental hazards; and
?? what local changes can reduce these risks, particularly through actions that might be taken by local governments, community organisations, development and disaster-oriented NGOs and other relevant agencies.


AURAN’s overall goal is to ensure that international agencies, governments and civil society develop a better understanding of disaster risks in urban areas, and the actions that are required to reduce them.


The aim is both to encourage the integration of disaster risk reduction into conventional urban
development planning and urban governance, and to support organisations that normally respond to disasters in expanding their role, especially in reducing the vulnerability of those people and settlements most at risk from disasters.