Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in Urban Settings (online)

Overview

ABOUT THE COURSE

This DRR+R in Urban Emergencies course is about providing development and humanitarian professionals working in urban neighbourhoods with the knowledge and skills to more effectively adapt, transform or negate the potential impact of natural hazards through the practice of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience.

How does the practice of DRR and resilience translate to complex, vibrant urban environments? What can we learn from the latest research and understanding of good practice? How do global frameworks relate to realities on the ground? And what can practitioners from the humanitarian and development sectors actually do? This four-week course aims to answer these questions, thereby providing participants with practical, tangible ways to reduce disaster risk and contribute to more resilient towns and cities.

This course is designed for both humanitarian and development practitioners. It will be of interest to those currently working in towns and cities, as well as those who want to develop their skills in this area, including staff from local and national government, NGOs, the UN, urban planners and designers, architects and other related fields. Classes will be held in English. Sessions will draw upon participants’ past experiences working in towns and cities.

What you will learn

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

• Analyse what makes urban contexts unique, and apply this knowledge to DRR and resilience approaches

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of urban resilience and disaster risk reduction, including where the concepts come from and how they apply to towns and cities.

• Identify and explain hazards and risks in urban contexts, and apply an understanding of urban governance and coordination within disaster management.

• Explain opportunities that urban contexts bring to disaster preparedness, risk reduction and integrated development for resilience.

• Analyse and identify how these concepts can be applied before and after an urban crisis.

WHAT DOES THE COURSE COVER

• Urban Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience

• Urban Governance, Risk Management and Coordination

• Urban Opportunities and Resources

• Building resilience before and after a disaster

What you require

The duration of the facilitated on-line course is 4 consecutive weeks where all activities take place on-line. It is expected that you spend around three to five hours per week on participating in team activities and completing individual tasks. Most of the activities are asynchronous, meaning you can log in when convenient for you, whether that is during the working day, in the evening at home or while travelling. However, there will be some webinars where a time will be scheduled and participants will need to be available to participate in tasks; this will cater to different time zones and working schedules.

The most important thing is that participants are fully committed to completing the course and sharing their own experiences with the other participants they will be working with. The maximum number of participants is 24.