Discursive constructions underlie and exacerbate the vulnerability of informal urban communities to the impacts of climate change

ABSTRACT

In the literature, the power of material deprivation in fostering the vulnerability of marginal urban areas is well documented. However, other forms of power that drive and underlie the exercise of material deprivation are rarely examined. The recent call for a more politicized view of adaptation reiterates the need to highlight and pay attention to the influence of other sources of power that drives vulnerability and underlie material deprivation. In response, this paper, through a discourse analysis of statements from urban actors at different levels and from documents/literature, examines the power of discursive constructions in fostering adaptation deficits and entrenching the vulnerability of residents of informal spaces. Through the lens of Lagos, the paper draws attention to how the imbued power relations emanating from dominant discourses fosters ‘misrecognition’ and facilitates ‘adaptation deficit’. It highlights the discursive constructions on residents of urban informal areas as underlying and exacerbating the people’s vulnerability to climate change impacts like flooding. The paper suggests that addressing this subtle but potent power through recognition and ‘un-naming’ will facilitate viable development and adaptation policies that promote the inclusion objectives of the sustainable development goals.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptation
• vulnerability
• cities
• urban development
• climate change

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Dr Deborah Sporton for her support during the research and to Dr Matt Tillotson and Dr Beth Kamunge for comments on the first draft of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Policy maker, interviewed January 2015.

2 Senior bureaucrat and Head of a ministerial department interviewed January 2015.

3 See van-Leeuwen (2003) for a detailed discussion on the representation of social actors in critical discourse analysis.

4 Government Agency CEO, interviewed February 2015.

5 All the names of participants are Pseudo names.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Olasimbo Omolara Fayombo

Olasimbo Omolara Fayombo is a recent doctoral graduate of The University of Sheffield, UK and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Aided by her public service experience and interest in environment/development, her research investigated the role of asset mobilization in adaptation to flooding in Lagos, Nigeria. A research from which she is currently generating papers for publication.