Overview

The International Community of Practice for Sustainable Urban Development, Connective Cities, organized a Practitioners’ Workshop from 19th to 21st of August in Curitiba, Brazil on ‘developing flood vulnerability and risk analysis for local flood management planning’. It fostered the continuity of the dialog initiated in the 6th Connective Cities Dialog Event carried out on February 2015 in Cologne, Germany. Participants that were active in Cologne were reunited in the City of Curitiba, Brazil, to exchange knowledge regarding the development of Vulnerability and Risk Analysis (VRA) in the municipal and regional context. This Connective Cities Practitioners’ Workshop was prepared and held in cooperation with the Civil Defense of the Brazilian State of Paraná.

Participants representing local and state governments and institutions, and members of research institutes shared their experiences by means of keynotes, working groups and peer-to-peer consultations during the three-day event, and agreed on common projects for further cooperation. The practitioners from municipalities and federal states of Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, and Germany worked together on vulnerability- and risk analyses for local flood management planning and shared news regarding standards, technologies and operating techniques.

Keynotes

Results

Key messages are that data availability and community involvement are key factors for the development and application of the VRA. Communication with communities and decision-makers was pointed out as an important issue to the effectiveness of the VRA and its integration in a broader urban plan. In regard to the illegal settlements in risk areas, it was highlighted the necessity to remove people from this areas, which should be revitalized to become public spaces, such as linear parks. Therefore a visit to the linear park ‘Parque Barigui‘ was integrated into the three-day workshop. The park served as a good example for the utilization of a region of risk by the population.

Finally, the importance of the events of the Connective Cities for the strengthening of the network was highlighted and the necessity of further exchange through an internet platform was indicated as a suggestion to facilitate the continuation of the practices and knowledge exchange. Therefore continuative meetings will take place on its own initiative in October, November and December, e.g. a meeting of the State of Paraná and the institute ‘Instituto de Pesquisas Technológicas do Estado de Sao Paulo‘.

In cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) the International Community of Practice for Sustainable Urban Development, Connective Cities, is supporting an exchange of up to now three cities in Brazil.