Simone Sandholz

Urban Centres in Asia and Latin America

Worldwide cities are undergoing fundamental transformations. A large part of these shifts is taking place in the Global South, where urban change is comparably more dynamic, but often following global trends and resulting in increasing uniform urban layouts. At the same time trends towards more regionalism can be observed, backed by identity discourses. Historic city centres in particular became focal points of this debate, suffering continuous pressure of transformation while being portrayed as the holder of urban uniqueness. Cities worldwide made a turn towards the appreciation of their tangible and intangible heritage. This is particularly challenging in the Global South where heritage was somehow regarded as luxury or touristic feature for a long time, while focal areas of intervention were related to provision of adequate housing and infrastructure for growing cities. This research analyses the importance of urban heritage and its potential for a sustainable urban development in the case of three selected cities in Asia and Latin America. The overall goal is to gain a deeper understanding on the sociocultural construction of identity in historic city centres in the Global South, its differences and similarities against the background of the global heritage debate.

Ecosystem-Based Approaches for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Rio de Janeiro State

In the mountain ranges (Regiao Serrana) of the Rio de Janeiro state (RJ), natural hazards such as landslides, mudslides, and flooding are recurrent, causing considerable human and economic losses. These events are of natural origin, but landscape degradation contributes significantly to increased disaster risk. Extreme climatic events that triggered past disasters are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity in the future. The approaches of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) aim at the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems to cope with the adverse effects of climate change and reduce the impacts of natural hazards. In this context, this chapter provides a comprehensive overview of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies at national and state level, before analyzing the linkages between CCA/DRR and biodiversity and ecosystem management. Finally, EbA/Eco-DRR measures that are currently planned or have already been implemented are presented, and the further potential and limitations of EbA/Eco-DRR in RJ are discussed.

Shaken Cityscapes: Tangible and Intangible Urban Heritage in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Many cities around the globe (still) comprise of historic fabric, particularly in the urban core areas. Very often intangible values, such as beliefs, events, habits or rituals, are intrinsically linked with it. This paper argues that urban heritage constitutes a crucial source of identity for present urban inhabitants, an important factor for sustainable and resilient urban development. Traditional Asian planning and architecture are not only linked to strong cosmological beliefs but at the same time a manifestation of craftsmanship skills and construction techniques. Such local wisdom comprises, among other things, knowledge of appropriate building technologies to withstand natural hazards—an aspect linking conservation and (disaster) resilience.