Table 1
Summary of adaptation measures in urban informal settlements and governance risks.
| ADAPTATION MEASURES (THE FOUNDATION) | DIFFUSION MECHANISMS (THE ACCELERATORS) | GOVERNANCE-RELATED REVERSALS (THE RISKS) | ILLUSTRATIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Transformative slum upgrading: Deep, structural modifications over cosmetic fixes. • Community-based and community-led adaptation: Grassroots ownership of resilience targets. • Non-networked and decentralised infrastructure services: Off-grid, modular water, energy and waste systems. | • Co-production: Blending official municipality workflows with local community delivery. • Citizen-led data and mapping: Grassroots mapping to counter lack of official census records. • Locally led adaptation measures: Shifting decision-making power directly to local actors. • Equitable financing: Ensuring climate funds actually hit the ground at the settlement level. | Land-use friction: Intense local or political resistance to changing traditional zoning/land rights. | Eviction threats or rigid pushback when trying to secure land tenure or formalise borders in high-density informal zones. |
| Design flaws: Infrastructure built for current baselines instead of future climate extremes. | Drainage networks that overflow during heavy rainfall because they were built using historical averages instead of future flood models. | ||
| Strategic disconnect: Lack of cohesion between city-level planners and frontline community groups. | Top-down municipal zoning plans that fall apart because they conflict with the actual, lived spatial layout of the community. | ||
| Financial fragility: Systems built via short-term grants that lack funds for long-term maintenance. | Community water reservoirs or sanitation blocks built via NGO grants that fall into disrepair as a result of a lack of a long-term operational budget. |
[i] Source: Author.
Figure 1
Process for screening evidence.
Figure 2
Convergence of flood risks and adaptation pathways in selected African cities.
Source: Author’s aggregation of the reviewed literature.
Figure 3
Types of flooding and operational actions in African cities.