Christine Wamsler

Professor, Docent, appointed Excellent Teaching Practitioner (ETP)

Bridging the gaps: stakeholder-based strategies for risk reduction and financing for the urban poor

Author

Christine Wamsler

Summary, in English

This paper explores the options that can be used by aid organizations working in human settlement development to more effectively address disaster risk management. Qualitative research was carried out in El Salvador at both the household and institutional levels - to analyze the needs, capacities and perspectives of slum dwellers and aid organizations. A clearer understanding of the gaps between what households need and undertake to deal with disasters and risk, and how organizations support them, yields important insights for the restructuring of development aid. At the household level, the research reveals a huge variety of crucial but somewhat weak coping strategies. At the institutional level, organizational structures and mechanisms for social housing provision and financing offer a potentially powerful platform for tackling disaster risk. However, current project measures are insufficient. Support for and scaling up of selected household coping strategies, combined with the expansion of social housing funding mechanisms for risk reduction and financing, are some of the options proposed for targeting aid.

Department/s

Housing Development and Management

Publishing year

2007

Language

English

Pages

115-142

Publication/Series

Environment & Urbanization

Volume

Issue

Full text

Links

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

Architecture

Keywords

disaster risk management
social housing
risk reduction
slum
development assistance
El Salvador
insurance
settlement development
risk financing

Status

Published

Research group

Housing Development and Management

ISBN/ISSN/Other

ISSN: 1746-0301