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Addressing urban crises: Bridging the humanitarian–development divide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2017

Lucy Earle
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Abstract

The world is urbanizing rapidly. Demographic shifts are intersecting with the impacts of climate change, conflict and displacement. In many parts of the world, chronic stresses mean that large proportions of the urban population are already vulnerable. Rapid and poorly planned urbanization is not just an issue for governments and development specialists; humanitarian actors must also increase their understanding of and ability to operate within towns and cities at risk of crises. Their current approaches do not always adequately reflect and work with the reality of urban populations and the systems that support urban life. This means that humanitarian interventions may not contribute to sustainable urban development and the well-being of town and city dwellers in the longer term. This article argues that greater collaboration between humanitarian responders, municipal actors, development specialists and professional associations could lead to better outcomes for crisis-affected populations in both the short and long term.

Keywords

urbanizationhumanitarian responseurban crisessustainable urban developmenturban displacementurban refugees
Type
The response
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 98 , Issue 901: War in cities , April 2016 , pp. 215 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2017 

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References

1 See for example, Harroff-Tavel, Marion, “Violence and Humanitarian Action in Urban Areas: New Challenges, New Approaches”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 92, No. 878, 2010 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, available at: www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/article/review/review-878-p329.htm (all internet references were accessed in September 2016).

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4 Ben Ramalingam, “‘We're Not in the Field Anymore’: Adapting Humanitarian Efforts to an Urban World”, ALNAP, London, 2011.

5 Ibid ., p. 23.

6 For more information on DFID's urban crises programme, see the websites of its two main implementing partners, available at: www.rescue-uk.org/what-we-do/urban-crisis and www.iied.org/urban-crises-learning-fund.

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22 Mercy Corps has made collaboration with municipality authorities in Lebanon a central part of its approach to the Syrian refugee crises; for a range of materials related to this issue, see: www.mercycorps.org/research-resources/role-municipalities-syria-refugee-crisis. The World Bank and other donors are also providing additional support to municipalities in Jordan where municipal services are under strain as a result of large influxes of Syrian refugees. Background documents can be accessed at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/532171468273353365/Jordan-Emergency-Services-and-Social-Resilience-Project.

23 See V. Maynard, above note 2, for a discussion on this.

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