Chapter 7 Urban: Urban Climate Resilience as a Planning Tool in Vietnam

Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. Extreme weather events have long been causes of disasters independent of climate change, leading to destruction of infrastructure, loss of lives, and loss of assets. However, the changes and increases in impacts brought about by climate change will further stress physical built infrastructure such as transportation, communication, and water delivery systems, increase pressure on energy resources, and affect economic sectors such as fisheries and tourism. Impacts may be exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and housing, limited access to services, limited urban planning and land-use management, and limited preparedness of city dwellers and emergency services. Urban poor are especially at risk due to their settlements in areas vulnerable to floods and landslides, limited access to services such as water, energy supply, and health, and few assets or safety nets that enable them to manage loss. Rapid urbanization and population increase places additional stress on urban infrastructure and ecological systems and on the ability of cities to manage climate-change impacts.