Calls to Action -- Climate-Related Disasters: Humanitarian Challenges and Reconstruction Opportunities

Climate-Related Disasters: Humanitarian Challenges and Reconstruction Opportunities Pablo Suarez, Graham Saunders, Sandra Mendler, Isabelle Lemaire, Jorge Karol, and Laura Curtis Humanitarian organizations, and the vulnerable communi- ties they serve, are dealing today with the life-threatening consequences of poor design and planning. Climate change is not only taking place but also quite literally “taking places,” imposing more frequent and intense events such as floods, hurricanes, droughts, and heat waves on built environments and people that are not prepared to deal with them. Staff and volunteers working in disaster management are at the forefront of the current climate crisis, but the complex relationships between place and climate require that humanitarian organizations rethink the way they will work in the future. They must forge new partnerships that address the root causes of the problem: not just by reduc- ing the emissions that result in global warming, but also by reversing the social construction of vulnerability. A changing climate means more work for humanitarian organizations, as the impacts of global climate change dis- proportionately affect poor people in developing countries (who have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions). Rural livelihoods are collapsing, pushing more farmers into urban areas that are already unable to provide services to rapidly growing populations in sprawling periurban shan- tytowns. This migration in turn exacerbates inequities in health status and access to food, water, energy, and other resources. The higher frequency of disasters also means less time for recovery and an added loop on the downward spiral of poverty. Revising design goals and methodologies to mitigate the effects of climate change is an urgent chal- lenge in both developed and developing countries. This article is an invitation to architects and designers to collaborate with humanitarian organizations in promoting adaptation to climate change. From hazard-resistant resi- dences and affordable flood shelters to disaster-resilient, inclusive urban planning policies, to public awareness cam- paigns or funding and design of reconstruction and relocation projects after catastrophic events, the humanitarian challenges brought by climate change can become a source of inspira- tion for those who shape urban places. The climate crisis may nurture development of sustainable design solutions that will help the most vulnerable sectors of the global population. Suarez, Saunders, Mendler, Lemaire, Karol, Curtis / Climate-Related Disasters