Climate change risk responses in East African cities: need, barriers and opportunities

The intensity of future climate change impacts is likely to increase current vulnerabilities and further reduce existing adaptive capacities in major urban areas of East Africa. The current urbanisation of poverty in the region has caused huge intra-urban social inequalities, and presents an enormous challenge for these cities to become economic growth engines in a global network of cities, capable of delivering adequate services and quality of life for their rapidly growing population. The impacts of uncertain climate change are expected to further compound the destitution of the urban poor in addition to affecting both local and national economies. Yet, the governing authorities are yet to appreciate the synergies between successful climate change risk responses and sustainable urban development initiatives instead of viewing it as an add-on to overall strategies driven by economic and spatial concerns.