Towards climate resilient and inclusive urban development in Latin America: showcasing a participatory planning project in Colombia, El Salvador, and Argentina

Abstract

This presentation is based on the "Participatory Planning for Climate Resilient Urban Development in Latin America" project that takes place in the cities of El Salvador, Colombia and Argentina. This project developed a practical and inclusive participatory-planning methodology that not only builds resilience, but also leads to sustainability through the reduction of inequities in the urban development process. The primary objective of this project, as part of the Climate Resilient Cities in Latin America Initiative (CRC), which is funded by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC), is to identify and apply a practical, innovative and participatory methodology and tools to support a climate resilient and inclusive urban development in the rapidly growing small and medium sized cities of Latin America. The project uses a decision support tool and methodology in a multi-stakeholder setting and test and assess in different contexts issues such as risk, vulnerability, urban development and decision-making. The methodology included a) stakeholder mapping and interviews, b) participatory workshops and the use of QuickScan tool, c) validation process, d) options portfolio and policy recommendations, e) implementation. The goal is to explore different options to integrate disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and resilience building strategies that will also ensure increased awareness and empowerment of stakeholders through a participatory process. The presentation will showcase the project implementation in three cities that led to a variety of resilience options and projects, some of which are currently implemented by local government - stakeholder partnerships. It will also discuss the operationalization of the concepts of research and pros and cons of the methodology used, while elaborating on the results, discussing similarities and dissimilarities of the three cities and recommendations for similar projects and research going forward.