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This policy brief by GreenCape argues that building urban resilience in informal settlements requires a participatory co-design approach driven by facilitators with high emotional intelligence and specific core values. Using a case study of the Alternative Service Delivery Unit (ASDU) in Cape Town's Freedom Farm and Malawi Camp, the document demonstrates how a data-driven, four-step engagement process can lead to community-supported infrastructure, such as home-solar systems. It details the necessary human capital for project drivers, emphasizing trust, collaboration, and active facilitation as essential for overcoming systemic distrust and social vulnerability.

The document examines the deployment of container-based sanitation (CBS) in Cape Town, where the number of informal households is projected to reach almost 900,000 by 2040. It details the current use of portable flush toilets (PFTs) and shared container toilets, noting that while communities generally accept these as alternatives to full-flush systems, there are significant needs for improved durability and more reliable servicing. The brief also explores the potential for a circular economy by beneficiating excreta into products like fertilizers or fuel, highlighting regulatory shifts such as the 2019 liquid waste landfill ban and new organic waste treatment standards that may reduce barriers for local providers.

The guidelines establish standards for container-based sanitation (CBS), a system where toilets collect excreta in sealable containers for transport to treatment facilities. It defines a service chain comprising customer relations, design and operations (containment, collection, and transfer), and the commercialisation of reuse products. The document outlines 'Safe Minimum Standards' and 'Aspirational Standards' across the sanitation chain, including toilet design (in-home vs. standalone), servicing frequency (typically 2-3 times per week), container cleaning, and waste beneficiation into products like animal protein, biochar, and liquid fertiliser. It emphasizes the importance of user engagement, occupational health and safety (OHS) for workers, and the integration of CBS into broader waste management and urban planning, particularly for informal settlements where sewer infrastructure is not feasible.

The Alternative Service Delivery Unit (ASDU), implemented by GreenCape, uses an adaptive co-design framework to provide energy services to unserviced communities. In Malawi Camp, Cape Town, a community of over 1,000 people with no formal electricity, residents identified home-level electricity, food storage (fridges), and area lighting for safety as their primary priorities. While residents expressed a willingness to pay between R50 and R100 per month for these services with the goal of eventual ownership, the document notes that the upcoming relocation of the community to a formal housing development on Symphony Way may decrease the business case for off-grid solutions.

The document proposes a 'data and domain' approach to resilient urbanism, where measurable shared data and asset-based community participation intersect to drive inclusive public engagement. It details a methodology for community-led enumeration—collecting socio-economic and demographic data—and using that data to ground participatory co-design workshops. A case study of GreenCape's Alternative Service Delivery Unit (ASDU) in the Freedom Farm and Malawi Camp informal settlements in Cape Town demonstrates this process, resulting in the selection of a solar PV micro-utility solution tailored to the community's specific needs, affordability (maximum R150 monthly payment), and desire for portability.

The report analyzes the flood and heat risks in Durán, Ecuador, finding that 60% of the canton faces medium to very high flood risk. It identifies a strong correlation between informal settlements, low socioeconomic status, and high vulnerability. The study recommends a master plan for storm drainage, the restoration of mangroves to mitigate tidal effects, and the implementation of urban green structures to increase resilience.

The report examines land governance in the Ekurhuleni Municipality, highlighting the complexities of managing land across multiple government spheres and the persistent challenge of informal settlements. It details the roles of municipal departments, the impact of dolomitic land on development, and the influence of civil society organisations in mediating between the state and the urban poor. The document also outlines strategies for land acquisition, the Rapid Land Release Programme, and the use of reblocking to manage informal dwellings.

The study concludes that human-induced climate change made the March-April 2022 heatwave in India and Pakistan approximately 30 times more likely and about 1
C hotter than in a pre-industrial climate. The event, defined as a 1-in-100-year occurrence in today's climate, caused at least 90 deaths, triggered glacial lake outburst floods in northern Pakistan, and led to significant wheat crop yield losses in India, prompting a wheat export ban. The researchers warn that at 2
C of global warming, such heatwaves will become an additional factor of 2-20 more likely and 0.5-1.5
C hotter. Vulnerability is highest among outdoor daily wage earners and urban poor in informal settlements, though the report notes that Heat Action Plans in India, now covering 130 cities, can effectively reduce mortality.

The study concludes that anthropogenic climate change made the record-breaking early season heat in northern Argentina and Paraguay approximately 60 times more likely. The analysis focused on the 7-day average of daily maximum temperatures, finding that the 2022 event was an exceptional occurrence that would have been unlikely without human-induced warming. The report also highlights the region's high vulnerability due to urban heat island effects, informal settlements lacking electricity, and the timing of the heatwave before populations had acclimated to summer temperatures.

The study concludes that human-induced climate change approximately doubled the probability of the April 2022 extreme rainfall event in Eastern South Africa and increased its intensity by 4-8%. While the event had a return time of about 20 years in the current climate, it would have been rarer in a 1.2°C cooler world. The disaster's impact was severely exacerbated by structural vulnerabilities, including the legacy of apartheid spatial planning and the prevalence of informal settlements in high-risk areas.