This series of six briefs celebrates the innovative efforts of organised groups of slum dwellers to tackle, recover from, and mitigate against the overlapping crises and multifaceted vulnerabilities of urban informality, such as inadequate infrastructure, environmental hazards, and social inequalities. By addressing these challenges, they work to mitigate the impact of these issues and improve their living conditions.
This brief highlights how community-led initiatives effectively tackle a range of pressing environmental challenges, including waste management, flooding, and ecosystem degradation, which are prevalent in informal settlements.
The brief shows the importance of utilising nature-based solutions and implementing sustainable practices that integrate local knowledge, ensuring that these interventions are both culturally relevant and ecologically sustainable. By adopting these approaches, communities are able to build resilience against environmental threats while improving their living conditions.
Examples include mangrove restoration projects in Sierra Leone that combat coastal erosion and help protect coastal ecosystems, river rehabilitation efforts in Nairobi to safeguard vital water sources, and urban gardening programmes in Namibia that not only enhance food security but also promote biodiversity and environmental conservation within urban spaces.
The brief is part of the Building Resilience in Informal Settlements programme, a broader initiative led by Cities Alliance and Slum Dwellers International (SDI), with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The programme aims to support sustainable and inclusive development in informal settlements, focusing on locally-led climate adaptation and resilience building.
Other briefs in this series
Brief 1: For Sustained Solutions to Urban Challenges, Focus on Strengthening Grassroots Leadership
Brief 2: Negotiating with Cities: Transformative Collaborations for Sustainable Resilience
Brief 3: Locally Led Infrastructure Projects: Small but Scalable Climate Adaptation
Brief 4: Mainstreaming the Marginalised Majority: A Grassroots Perspective on Gender and Youth
Brief 5: The Conflict Sensitive Nature of Working in Informal Settlements
