Disaster risk reduction in Dhaka city: from urban landscape analysis to opportunities for DRR integration
The geographical location of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal leaves the country susceptible to significant climate change impacts that exacerbate environmental hazards. In the urban context, disasters and hazards are posed by flood and waterlogging, earthquakes and fires. The residents of informal settlements, or slums, can be understood as most at risk due to the existing social, physical and economic vulnerabilities inherent to their environment. Increasing exposure to disaster hazards in Dhaka heightens the need for positive developments in urban Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The rapidly expanding rate of the city’s slums as a result of both growing population and rural-urban migration, means resources are increasingly strained, and hence lives and livelihoods are ever more vulnerable to the risks posed by urban hazards.