Strengthening Cities for Inclusive Climate Adaptation
2022
implementing agencies of these schemes include Karnataka Slum Development Board, Karnataka Housing Board, Urban Development Authorities, Urban Local Bodies, etc. (MoHUA,202019).
3.5 Climate change, urbanisation, and informality nexus- vulnerabilities and risks Evidence from across the globe over the past years have shown how cities will be at the forefront of climate change impacts (Dodman et al., 2019). While urban areas are the major contributors of climate change with economic activities in cities accounting for 76 % of the carbon emissions, a high concentration of population, financial and infrastructure assets make these areas highly vulnerable to climate change impacts (UN Habitat). These impacts will intensify manifold for slum dwellers, vulnerable settlements, and informal traders with inherent socio-economic deprivations. This section elucidates the vulnerabilities and risks associated with the urbanisation, climate change, and informality nexus in Dharwad. As an outcome of unprecedented urbanisation, the land use in Hubballi-Dharwad has undergone tremendous change over the past few decades. The agricultural area in the city region has more than halved (from nearly 5000 Ha to 2320 Ha), and the built-up area has more than tripled (1080 Ha to 3850 Ha) from 1975 to 2011. The area covered by water bodies in the city has also reduced by 10% (L.T.Nayak & Priyadarshani, 2014). The expansion of Dharwad town over the years has led to densification and overcrowding of the older clusters in the city such as Haveripeth, Hosayellapur, Saidapur, and Fort Area. Some of these areas have been redeveloped and have access to basic services, while the rest have remained as informal clusters. This urban transformation, which is not cohesively planned, has been accompanied by temperature rise, pollution, water depletion, urban floods, etc. which is further exacerbated by climate change impacts like heat waves, extreme rainfall events, and droughts. A few of these layered vulnerabilities in Dharwad are evidenced in the following sections. Temperature rise and air pollution The temperature variation between the city and neighbouring hinterland 20 is 1.90C (L.T.Nayak & Priyadarshani, 2014). The city is warmer than the surrounding rural areas due to the heat island effect caused by urban emissions, high density of buildings and road network, and heat generated directly from human activities. A reduction in the number of water tanks in the city, from nearly 100 in 1975 to barely a few in 2011, has also contributed to this rise in temperature (L.T.Nayak & Priyadarshani, 2014). A study carried out in 2018 indicate that the average PM2.5 concentration for the twin cities has increased from 15 μg/m3 in 1998 to 28.0 ± 13.4 μg/m3 in 2018. While the 2018 value is within the national standard (40), it is nearly three times the WHO guideline (10) (urban emissions, 2018)21. The main sources contributing towards PM2.5 in 2018 was transport emissions, followed by dust emissions from road re-suspension and construction activities. Industrial emissions and open waste burning are also major contributors. There is also a variation in PM 2.5 concentration over the months, with the levels dipping usually during monsoons (between June to September) (urban emissions,
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https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/2-%20Karnataka.pdf study doesn’t specify the exact location where temperature measurements were undertaken 21 https://urbanemissions.info/india-apna/dharwad-india/ 20The
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