Resilience Of Informal Areas In Megacities Magnitude Challenges And Policies

This book focuses on the socio-economic and sustainability challenges facing megacities in dealing with the dramatic population increases of informal areas and settlements (or slums), especially when coupled with the impacts and risks of climate change. The authors examine informal urban areas globally and in developing countries utilizing strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as a tool to solve the sequence of upgrading steps concerning slums and shanty towns, and also establish essential guidelines for local governments and stakeholders to create a balance and quality of life for slums dwellers, particularly in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, through applying sustainability indicators that enhance the upgrading process. Coverage includes recent statistics and mapping of informal areas worldwide and assessment of the GIZ and Sir Norman Foster models in terms of energy demands and consequential emission of CO2 and air pollution from slums. Three models of Maspero’s Triangle are also studied and assessed. The book is essential reading for a wide range of researchers, students, policymakers, governments, and professionals as well as a good source for research centers and academicians working in energy, climate change, urban environments, and sustainable urban development.

This book focuses on the socio-economic and sustainability challenges facing megacities in dealing with the dramatic population increases of informal areas and settlements (or slums), especially when coupled with the impacts and risks of climate change. The authors examine informal urban areas globally and in developing countries utilizing strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as a tool to solve the sequence of upgrading steps concerning slums and shanty towns, and also establish essential guidelines for local governments and stakeholders to create a balance and quality of life for slums dwellers, particularly in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, through applying sustainability indicators that enhance the upgrading process. Coverage includes recent statistics and mapping of informal areas worldwide and assessment of the GIZ and Sir Norman Foster models in terms of energy demands and consequential emission of CO2 and air pollution from slums. Three models of Maspero's Triangle are also studied and assessed. The book is essential reading for a wide range of researchers, students, policymakers, governments, and professionals as well as a good source for research centers and academicians working in energy, climate change, urban environments, and sustainable urban development. Reviews and assesses global case studies of unplanned informal urban areas in many megacities; Highlights the challenges facing slums and the role policy plays in achieving SDG and UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda goals; Examines the cost and financial sustainability of upgrading informal areas and the importance of sustainable development indicators (SDI) and strategic environment assessments (SEA) in measuring the sustainability of informal areas.

This book focuses on understanding biomimetic architecture and its role as a sustainable design tool. It presents the role of biomimicry in mitigation and adaptation to climate change and examines how biomimetic architecture can provide healthy solutions to limit the spread of COVID-19 in buildings and cities. Coverage includes global examples of biomimetic approaches and buildings, an evaluation of the performance of biomimicry applications in architecture to illustrate best practices, and an exploration of how nature can offer inspiration in building design to conserve resources and save energy use as well as curb carbon emissions – a reaffirmed goal of COP 26 and an outcome of Glasgow Climate Pact. Finally, the book presents guidelines to enhance urban areas and healthier spaces in buildings to meet COVID-19 social distance regulations and beyond. Examines global applications of biomimicry in architecture; Highlights the importance of biomimicry in driving livability in cities and buildings; Explores the role of biomimetic architecture in mitigating climate change. “The line of argument developed is highly relevant to the present, in addition to being original and pertinent to research on urban regeneration, especially in regard to the exploration of the use of biomimicry architecture in response to changing urban demands.” —Alessandra Battisti, Ph.D., Professor of Architecture, University of Rome La Sapienza-

​Achieving Building Comfort by Natural Means explores examples of green building designs and methods that are currently being used around the world to achieve human comfort in buildings. The operation of buildings accounts for more than 40% of total energy use and is a major source of carbon emissions. It is imperative that this consumption be substantially decreased and that energy needed for building comfort is obtained from renewable and environmentally friendly sources. This book brings together a global group of contributors who look at factors such as location, climate, building materials, energy management, ventilation, thermal environmental conditions, shading, lighting, acoustics, and more that are critical for achieving buildings that are more sustainable. Thermal comfort and climatic potential of ventilative cooling in Italian climates is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This volume provides visionary approaches within the multi-disciplines engaged with informal settlements covering three main themes; ‘Innovative Policies and Strategies to Informal Urbanism’; ‘Production, Operation and the Life-World of Urban Space’ and finally ‘The Dynamics of Informal Settlements’. The book reflects multi-disciplinary experiences dealing with informality, where authors from a number of global regions present cases, practices and ideologies related to their respective context. This is elaborated through fifteen selected papers, most of which, were presented at the International conference: ARCHCAIRO 6 (the 6th International Conference), "RESPONSIVE URBANISM IN INFORMAL AREAS TOWARDS A REGIONAL AGENDA FOR HABITAT III". The conference was organized as a collaborative activity within the “Informal Urbanism Hub” of the HABITAT University Network Initiative (UNI), the Regional Office for Arab Countries, and Cairo University, aiming at reducing the gap between academia and practice.

Based on a major international study, this volume provides a synthesis of scientific knowledge on megacity urbanization on the coast, environmental impacts, risks and management choices, including a focus on adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk management. It is the primary output of a major international scientific project sponsored by the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme, the Land-Ocean Interactions at the Coastal Zone programme of IHDP/IGBP, and others. It brings together the work of over 60 contributing authors and an international review board. It presents the international policy and academic community with an unbiased and high quality assessment of the state-of-the art in areas of social-ecological systems interaction. One of its main messages is that while we know a great deal about megacities of more than ten million people and about urban processes, and about coasts and their physical and ecological processes (aquatic, physical and atmospheric), there is relatively little work that focusses primarily at points of intersection between large-scale urbanization and the coast. The book responds to this gap by providing the first global synthesis of megacity and large urban region urbanization on the coast. Its focus is on environmental and development challenges, climate change and disaster. It is interdisciplinary and brings together world recognised scientists (including many IPCC lead authors) on urban climate and atmosphere, disaster risk management, demography and coastal environments.

This handbook is a resource for enhancing disaster resilience in urban areas. It summarizes the guiding principles, tools, and practices in key economic sectors that can facilitate incorporation of resilience concepts into decisions about infrastructure investments and urban management that are integral to reducing disaster and climate risks.

The urban poor living in slums are at particularly high risk from the impacts of climate change and natural hazards. This study analyzes key issues affecting their vulnerability, with evidence from a number of cities in the developing world.