Understanding and supporting climate-sensitive decision processes in southern African cities

Abstract

For cities to develop in ways that are sustainable, climate-resilient and equitable, considerations of climate variability and change must factor into planning, investment and management decisions. Doing so requires robust, actionable climate information and the capabilities and mechanisms to integrate climate information into complex technical and political urban decision-making processes, with key roles for local governments and universities. Southern African cities are marked by rapid urbanization, weak economies, severe infrastructure deficits, high levels of inequality and informality, and undercapacitated governments and scientific institutions. A growing number of co-production processes supported by decision-support tools, underway in the region, create spaces for engagement and learning about how climate risk features in urban decision-making processes. This paper reviews recent research on how climate information is brought to bear on key city development and urban management decisions in southern African cities, with a focus on the key actors and partnerships involved, illustrated through the cases of Lusaka and Durban. It challenges the emphasis on co-producing decision-support tools, arguing in favor of using such tools in the pursuit of engagement and collaboration across formal and informal actors that shifts the power dynamics of decision-making shaping southern African cities.