As cities all over the world have urbanized rapidly after the industrial revolution, most cities have confronted environmental problems such as poor air and water quality, high levels of traffic congestion and ambient noise, poor-quality built environment, derelict land, greenhouse gas emissions, urban sprawl, generation of waste and waste-water. In particular, cities in the developing world face problems related to the living conditions in which the urban population lives. In the context of urban cities in the developing world, it can be narrowed to the quality of life of living population in the cities. Needless to say that Asia has the largest population, as well as urban population at risk. This book brings the lessons from innovative urban risk management approaches in Asian cities, drawing the lessons from seven Asian countries. The authors of the chapters consists of wider spectrum of stakeholders: from academicians to policy makers to NGO practitioners.

One of the emerging reasons for the current trend of increasing impacts of disasters is the unpredictability of natural hazard events coupled with the tendency of human settlements to move to vulnerable locations including coastal areas in search of economic gains. Urban areas are most affected due to concentration of habitat and resources. Whilst it is impossible to make resistant urban growth, resilience is becoming more widely accepted and urban systems must be resilient enough to cope with the climate related hazards. This book highlights the issues of resilience through regional, national, city and community-based studies. Contributions come from academia, city government networks, city managers, non-government organizations and international agencies like the World Bank and United Nations. Thus, the book reflects a unique aspect of multi-stakeholder perspective. It also highlights how to enhance actions at local levels, and how the plans can be implemented through multi-stakeholder collaboration. This is the first book to combine academic research and field practice on the urban risk reduction, especially focusing on the climate-related disasters in the Asian region.

As cities all over the world have urbanized rapidly after the industrial revolution, most cities have confronted environmental problems such as poor air and water quality, high levels of traffic congestion and ambient noise, poor-quality built environment, derelict land, greenhouse gas emissions, urban sprawl, generation of waste and waste-water. In particular, cities in the developing world face problems related to the living conditions in which the urban population lives. In the context of urban cities in the developing world, it can be narrowed to the quality of life of living population in the cities. Needless to say that Asia has the largest population, as well as urban population at risk. This book brings the lessons from innovative urban risk management approaches in Asian cities, drawing the lessons from seven Asian countries. The authors of the chapters consists of wider spectrum of stakeholders: from academicians to policy makers to NGO practitioners.