Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

At the current rate of urbanization, 87% of the population of Latin America will live in urban areas within the next 30 years. Mid-sized cities, or emerging cities, will face new challenges in the management of municipal services as the population growth rate surpasses that of the region’s largest cities. Focused in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil, this research explores sustainable urban development by analyzing growth patterns and historical changes in local policies and planning practices that affect vulnerable populations. In relation to the potential effects of climate change, coastal cities are vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme hydroclimatic events that can result in flooding. Such events can strain the ability of local governments to implement disaster response protocols that safeguard human welfare as well as protect critical infrastructure. This research strives to identify leverage points that work towards sustainable urban development without exacerbating deficiencies in the availably of public goods and basic services or worsening social inequality through the unequal distribution of the costs and benefits of environmental change. Despite efforts to develop inclusive policy, it remains an enduring challenge to identify windows of opportunity for the development of policies that can both address the profound daily hardships endured by marginalized populations as well as global priorities such as climate change mitigation.