Urbanization and a rapidly changing climate present enormous challenges to cities everywhere, but particularly in Southeast Asia where so many urban areas are located on coastlines or major river systems. The challenges faced by cities in this region have accelerated and will continue to do so as the area is experiencing dramatic economic and societal transformation. The percentage of people living in urban areas within the Mekhong sub-region is predicted to rise from today’s rate of 47% to 56% by 2030. Concomitantly, climate change is causing hydro-meteorological events to be more intense and frequent with the frequency of floods and storms increasing by more than 7% on average per year during the past decade. Political-economic processes are contributing to climate risks unequally affecting small cities in the GMS. Socioeconomic inequality is rising in the region (Asian Development Bank 2012, Phongpaichit and Baker 2015). But also, power structures are highly unequal and autocratic, and there is limited political space for reform (Strangio 2014; Garschagen 2015). Consequently, the poorest often suffer the most from the effects of climate change due to their limited assets, the locations where they live, and the state’s failure to protect them. In contrast, elites have often been able to use the state to accumulate social surpluses in areas where they live and work at the expense of others (Taylor 2014).
This session brings together case studies of Southeast Asian cities that have recently dealt with climate-related disasters and describes how stakeholders in the cities prepared for and responded to the events from a critical perspective. The final paper in the session helps to contextualize the case studies by focusing on some of the common themes and lessons learned through the individual papers describing particular cities and their circumstances.
Moderator: Amrita Daniere, University of Toronto
Flood Vulnerability and Resilience in Peri-Urbanizing Vietnam: A Case Study from Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam Hue Le, Vietnam National University; Ly Bui, Vietnam National University
Flood: Impact and Responses in Khon Kaen City, Thailand Astrud Beringer, Mahasarakham University; Jutamas Kaewsuk, Mahasarakham University
Urbanization and the Urban Master Plan of Vientiane: Issues and Prospects Thanousorn Vongpraseuth, National University of Laos; Soukanh Chithpanya, National University of Laos
Enhancing Urban Climate Change Resilience in Southeast Asia: Stories From the Field Amrita Daniere, University of Toronto
