Cities in developing countries and their development in response to climate change and resource scarcity
Future Fit is a DFID Executive Management Committee initiative, to produce a vision and strategy for the department’s response to the challenges and opportunities that climate change and resource scarcity pose for poverty reduction and development. The Future Fit strategy asks the question what strategic shifts in front line sectors - Food, Water, Energy, and Cities - are needed to protect development gains and respond to the challenge of climate change and resource scarcity. Answers to this question will feed into the review of the DFID business model and resource allocation. As part of this strategy DFID are undertaking a basic analysis around cities in developing countries and the potential for increased attention to cities in DFID as a response to climate change and natural resource scarcity. In this context, this paper contributes to the analysis as a quick and brief overview. The paper is structured with an overview of climate change in poor cities, including vulnerability and management challenges, followed by a problem analysis, on-going initiatives, including who helps to accelerate progress and example of the most urgent actions to accelerate progress. The final section describes key global partners in the sector.