Urbanization has for many years been a key driver of development and poverty reduction, but a rapid expansion in city sizes and populations threatens, if unmanaged, to reverse some of these gains.
With many cities becoming more vulnerable to natural hazards, infectious diseases and pollution — particularly in fast-growing informal settlements — initiatives like the New Urban Agenda are increasingly calling for a systems-based approach to urban resilience and risk management.
Rafael Tuts, director of the Global Solutions Division at UN-Habitat, talked with Devex about the organisation’s work in this area and why a multisector, hazard, and stakeholder approach is most successful.