Governance for urban resilience in popular settlements in developing countries: a case-study review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building urban resilience in popular settlements in developing countries is an urgent task driven by the compounded effects of climate change and rapid substandard urbanization. Urban resilience tends to be seen in the international development sphere as a governance outcome. Nonetheless, the vulnerability of these settlements results in part from the exclusion of their residents from the very governance structures that should address their vulnerability. Most of the literature on governance for resilience reports cases from developed regions, which cannot be generalized to developing regions. In this article, we present the results of a systematic review of 31 empirical cases of governance for urban resilience in popular settlements in developing countries. We find that although governance structures exist, and most cases report local groups collaborating to address vulnerability, residents of popular settlements are excluded from formal decision-making. This is a lost opportunity for the governance of urban resilience.