From Risk to Resilience - Placing Housing at the Forefront of Climate-Sensitive Planning

Cities around the world are facing complex set of climate risks that has serious cascading effects on habitats and communities alike. Heat stress, water scarcity, flooding and other extreme weather events are no longer episodic shocks but everyday event of urban life affecting an array of stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable housing communities. As cities densify and expand, housing systems and their associated plans, regulations and locations become a decisive factor in highlighting whether climate risks are being reduced or reinforced. This years umbrella theme on "Housing the world: safe and resilient cities and communities" has shown a critical shift in global urban discourse. It has moved the conversations beyond housing supply, towards housing resilience, safety and habitability. Hence, it becomes imperative to demand closer attention to the systems that shape housing outcomes upstream. This includes spatial planning frameworks, risk and vulnerability assessments, building regulations & bye-laws, institutional decision making and most importantly, the role of communities in perceiving and responding to risks. This session places housing at the forefront of climate-sensitive planning discussions. It argues that resilient and risk ready housing outcomes are not achieved through standalone housing programmes but through regulatory choices that are embedded with risk assessment frameworks and everyday planning. Drawing from the Urban Act project in India as a proof of concept, the session will facilitate dialogue around shared challenges, emerging practices, and transferable lessons across diverse urban contexts. It will also explore how participatory, climate-sensitive spatial planning can have positive cascading effects on promoting safer housing systems, better informed communities and in-turn more resilient cities. The networking event will aim to: 1. Foster exchange among practitioners and policymakers working at the intersection of housing, planning and climate action. 2. Exchange experiences on how participatory planning approaches can integrate climate risk, hazard exposure and local knowledge into housing related decisions at city scale. 3. Use findings from Urban ACT in India to illustrate how climate-sensitive planning, embedded within existing statutory frameworks can support safer housing systems and informed communities. 4.Center equity in housing transitions by ensuring climate-responsive planning reduces risk for vulnerable.