Urban climate change in cities disproportionally impacts the poor

Climate change has proven to disproportionately impact densely populated, marginalised urban areas that suffer from socio-economic deprivation. Such impacts are heavily pronounced in Cape Town based townships, where these struggles are amplified by patterns of historical subjugation due to apartheid as well as incapacitated post-apartheid governance. The extremity and frequency of climate-related disasters are projected to drastically increase within the next decade. However, the ability of sites such as township settlements to manage such events remains challenged. COVID, for example, has left an austere socio-economic legacy in South Africa, exacerbating local infrastructural weaknesses. Populations continue to grow as township capacities decrease, fostering an environment that will increase future vulnerability to climate-related disaster events.