Ashiq Ur Rahman

This paper addresses the persistent challenges in housing the urban poor in Bangladesh. In particular, it explores the empirical evidence on informal networks of the urban poor as they relate to service provision in low-income settlements of Khulna City. It also analyses the emerging forms of urban governance in low-income urban settlements. Specifically, it investigates the transformation process of project-assisted form of informal network of the urban poor. This paper argues that community-based organisations in poor settlements in Bangladesh represent informal networks of the urban poor. Whether these networks are being federated depends on their type or form, and this is often the outcome of project-led initiatives. The findings show that project based initiatives have failed to assist these networks with the appropriate rules and resources required for their effectiveness. Moreover, these efforts are taking place in a system that is attempting to establish enabling mechanisms under a system of neo-liberalism. Thus, it is necessary to explore the possible ways to bridge formal and informal processes through institutionalisation under a wider urban governance framework.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine pro-poor urban asset adaptation to climate variability and change. It constructs a conceptual framework that explores the appropriate asset adaptation strategies for extreme poor households as well as the process of supporting these households and groups in accumulating these assets.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative data are obtained from life histories, key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus-group discussions (FGDs). These data are collected, coded and themed.Findings: This research identifies that households among the urban extreme poor do their best to adapt to perceived climate changes; however, in the absence of savings, and access to credit and insurance, they are forced to adopt adverse coping strategies. Individual adaptation practices yield minimal results and are short lived and even harmful because the urban extreme poor are excluded from formal policies and institutions as they lack formal rights and entitlements. For the poorest, the process of facilitating and maintaining patron–client relationships is a central coping strategy. Social policy approaches are found to be effective in facilitating asset adaptation for the urban extreme poor because they contribute to greater resilience to climate change.Originality/value: This study analyses the empirical evidence through the lens of a pro-poor asset-adaptation framework. It shows that the asset-transfer approach is an effective in building household-adaptation strategies. Equally important is the capacity to participate in and influence the institutions from which these people have previously been excluded.