This January, Dr David Dodman, General Director of IHS, visited the Sheffield Urbanism Winter Programme. The programme brought together experts to exchange their knowledge and partake in various discussions surrounding urban resilience. During his visit, he delivered a lecture on the connection between informality and climate change. He also participated in a roundtable on the World Cities Report, to which he contributed as an external author. Read more about the winter programme and his visit below.
Cities, Climate and Collaboration
Cities today face various challenges, such as climate change adaptation, rapid urbanisation and socio-economic inequalities. Addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary and cross-institutional solutions. As hubs of research and innovation, universities play an important role in finding ways to tackle these challenges. Collaboration between academics and institutions allows for a deepened understanding of urban challenges. By building strong partnerships, institutions can share resources, expertise and perspectives to create more effective and sustainable solutions.
Dr Dodman's visit to Sheffield demonstrated the value of such collaborations, with discussions bringing together different perspectives to tackle urban challenges. Drawing on his research, he shared examples of how communities worldwide experience and respond to climate change, particularly in informal and low-income settlements in Africa and Asia. His insights helped better understand how cities can mitigate risks and implement effective strategies to address these challenges.
The discussion on climate change resilience and sustainable cities changes when we take a closer look at what they are made of: people.
A change in perspective allows for the revaluation of processes and policies that can be utilised to build climate-resilient cities. In his guest lecture, Dr Dodman highlighted the impact of the global climate emergency. Using various examples, such as natural infrastructure and informal housing, he explored the trade-offs and unintended consequences of policies and practices commonly employed to address climate change and build resilient cities. He also discussed alternative approaches to strengthening climate resilience in the rapidly growing and often unplanned settlements in the Global South.
Turning dialogue into action
Open dialogues are the foundation for change. Roundtable discussions, joint research initiatives and academic exchanges allow experts to share insights, debate strategies and develop new solutions. These efforts contribute to a broader goal: expanding and strengthening institutional networks. These networks allow for different curriculums and their perspectives to be explored and compared. It also offers students and researchers more chances to engage with real-world issues.
The Winter programme provided a platform to explore how these ideas could be implemented, such as by their roundtable discussion. This discussion with the Urban Institute, School of Geography and Planning and Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute focused on the World Cities Report, to which Dr Dodman contributed as an external author. The session served as a platform to discuss the necessity of transformative infrastructure for urban climate resilience. Additionally, it explored topics such as green building initiatives and financial accessibility for cars to make these ideas a reality. The session highlighted how interconnected urban challenges are and how collaboration can refine and translate ideas into practical solutions.
After all, these challenges cannot be addressed in isolation. Real progress comes from collective effort and shared expertise. Through ongoing collaboration, insights can be turned into action, ultimately shaping strategies that drive meaningful change in the urban landscape.
More on Urbanism
As part of being a visiting fellow to the Urban Institute (UI), Dr Dodman was also a guest on the Urban Radar Podscarst by Sheffield Urbanism. Check out Episode 1: Is community action enough to tackle climate change?
