What determines vulnerability to floods: A case study in Georgetown, Guyana

This paper describes how a high proportion of Greater Georgetown's inhabitants are subjected to regular floods and examines also the vulnerability of households to flooding and flood impacts in four of the city's 49 wards, It demonstrates the importance of incorporating social and economic assets together with physical resources as key ''dynamic pressures''((1)) in assessments of household and neighbourhood vulnerability to environmental stress. It also identities households and communities as active agents in the management of vulnerability and examines the potential of such organizations for reducing vulnerability based upon economic poverty.