Planning for climate change in Cartagena, Colombia : institutionalizing alternative approaches

Abstract

Planning for climate change in cities of developing countries is a difficult task due to the lack of resources, low institutional capacity of local authorities and governments, and the informal and illegal growth of urban areas. This is worsened by the fact that the occurrence of extreme weather events and small incremental changes in climate phenomena is increasing and intensifying in these areas. This paper is a case study of Cartagena, Colombia. It seeks to identify how bottom-up approaches are incorporated or considered into its legal and institutional planning framework