Urban Risk Assessments: Towards a Common Approach (Cities and Climate Change JWP)

The rapid and often unplanned expansion of cities is exposing a greater number of people and economic assets to the risk of disasters and the effects of climate change. Urban Risk Assessments: Towards a Common Approach proposes a framework for carrying out urban risk assessment, and seeks to strengthen coherence and consensus in how cities can plan for natural disasters and climate change. 

The Urban Risk Assessment presents a flexible approach that project and city managers can use to identify feasible measures to assess a city’s risk. The methodology focuses on three reinforcing pillars that collectively contribute to the understanding of urban risk: a hazard impact assessment, an institutional assessment, and a socioeconomic assessment. 

The paper is the product of a Joint Work Programme on Cities and Climate Change undertaken by UNEP, UN-HABITAT and the World Bank to produce tools, programming and resources for cities as they respond to climate change. Within the framework of the Joint Work Programme, the Cities Alliance Secretariat is facilitating the partnership as well as providing technical, administrative, and financial support.