SDGs Collaborative Research Unit Making Sense of Complex Stresses in an Urban World

Cities represent arenas of change. From climate related risks including floods, water stresses, and heat waves to unprecedented flows of people within and across borders, cities are where complex stresses are coming together. On the one hand, pull factors such as economic hardships or criminal and political violence are making people move to cities in large numbers. On the other, push factors such as sea-level rise, flooding, and water scarcities are expected to displace millions. According to estimates, the number of residents living in water-stressed cities is expected to increase from 500 million in 2000 to 1.9 billion by 2050. At the heart of these disruptive phenomena affecting governance, security, and related political processes are ordinary people. They are the most vulnerable— at the receiving end of exploitative economic and political policies—and at the frontlines of facing these risks.

The coming together of these challenges with pre-existing ground realities in cities contributes to social and political processes, and presents a challenging puzzle for scholars and policymakers. In many cities, access to basic rights (e.g., housing or water) is an arena of deep contestation; criminal and political violence shape (and are shaped by) political economies; and neoliberal policies have significantly entrenched inequality. In many places, governments have ceded space to makeshift coping mechanisms and independent entrepreneurs who serve and exploit the daily needs of residents. How emergent stresses overwhelm these ecosystems is an open question. In this research project, we address these concerns.