Abstract
The increasing frequency and severity of floods, heat waves, and storm surges impacting global cities, combined with the growing morbidity in public health, necessitates prompt and effective climate action. Adaptation and mitigation require adequate and appropriate institutional, technical, and societal capacities—all of which are in short supply in most low- and middle-income country cities that are experiencing growth while suffering vulnerabilities. Although national governments are alerted to climate risk and the imperatives of planning, financing, and managing climate transitions, their responses to capacity constraints and approaches to capacity building display neither urgency nor scale. We use a scenario-building methodology to examine this crisis in the context of cities in India. We review the literature and draw upon personal experiences in capacity building, policymaking, and practice to highlight the underestimation of scale and complexity of adaptive capacity required by India’s cities. We discuss systemic barriers that prevent cities from accessing the required human and financial resources, ranging from the seemingly innocuous, such as language, to the profoundly challenging, such as scant knowledge of climate communication in civil society and community-based organizations. Other barriers include the reluctance of local universities to engage with messy real-world problems and India’s protectionist stance on trade in green services. Drawing on the analysis of gaps and barriers, we project a disruptive scenario whereby cities proactively leverage networks and partnerships to augment their adaptive capacities, especially in planning and finance, partly by using city labs that form vital bridges between global expertise and local demand. We describe the potential of information and communication technologies and digital platforms to inform the policies and institutional structures required for capacity building and also catalyze a vibrant ecosystem of resources available to cities in need. We conclude by suggesting that such networks, by seamlessly and speedily connecting global expertise to local action, serve the common interests of the entire global community.
Recommended Citation
Shah, Jagan
(2024)
"The Adaptation Wedge: Capacity-Building Scenarios for India’s Cities,"
Midwest Social Sciences Journal: Vol. 26:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/2766-0796.1146
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/mssj/vol26/iss2/10
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