Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Identifying Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Challenges in the Caribbean SIDS: An Urban Morphological Approach

  • Chapter
Small Island Developing States

Part of the book series: The World of Small States ((WSS,volume 9))

Abstract

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise posed by climate change. Negril, a small city on Jamaica’s west coast, is a popular Caribbean tourist destination contributing about 5.5% to the national GDP. In particular, Long Bay, a seven-mile resort transect and Negril’s densest and low-lying area, has been losing beach at between 1 and 2 m/year while making its entire tourism industry highly vulnerable. Since adaptation and its success vary by contexts, places, and time; understanding a system’s current vulnerability is essential before any adaptation action. However, limited information on local climatic impacts hinders identifying the vulnerability and urban planning approaches to facilitate climate change adaptation. Thus, after conducting 16 interviews with planners, environmentalists and professionals in Jamaica along with observation and a GPS survey, this study identifies and maps the typology of Long Bay’s built environment vulnerable to climate change by using urban morphology as an investigating tool. This chapter argues that Long Bay’s current and proposed adaptation planning actions primarily consider the immediate and most crucial climatic impacts but overlooks interrelated and complex problems and local adaptive capacity. Despite much potential, the lack of collaboration between development actors and locals in the adaptation decision-making process often increases the vulnerability and adaptation challenges of Negril.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The regulation of coastal setback restricts a minimum distance from the shoreline for new buildings or infrastructural development. It differs across different areas. For Negril, the town and country planning development order (2013) sets 45.75 m coastal setback for Negril area.

References

  • Ahern, J. (2011). From fail-safe to safe-to-fail: Sustainability and resilience in the New Urban World. Landscape and Urban Planning, 100, 341–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allan, P., Bryant, M., Wirsching, C., Garcia, D., & Teresa Rodriguez, M. (2013). The influence of urban morphology on the resilience of cities following an earthquake. Journal of Urban Design, 18, 242–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antronico, L., De Pascale, F., Coscarelli, R., & Gullà, G. (2020). Landslide risk perception, social vulnerability and community resilience: The case study of Maierato (Calabria, southern Italy). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 46, 101529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bankoff, G. (2019). Remaking the world in our own image: Vulnerability, resilience and adaptation as historical discourses. Disasters, 43, 221–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J., & O’Neill, S. (2010). Maladaptation. Global Environmental Change, 20, 211–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, L. (2016). Scrapped - Gov’t Pulls Plug On Controversial $1-Billion Negril Breakwater Project. The Gleaner. [online] Retrieved November 3, 2020, from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20160713/scrapped-govt-pulls-plug-controversial-1-billion-negril-breakwater

  • Beatley, T. (2014). Planning for resilient coastal communities: Emerging practice and future directions. In B. C. Glavovic & G. P. Smith (Eds.), Adapting to climate change: Lessons from natural hazards planning. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmona, M., Heath, T., Tiesdell, S., & Oc, T. (2010). Public places - urban spaces: The dimension of urban design. Architectural Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • CEAC. (2014). Storm surge modeling and sea level rise scenarios for the Negril Climate Risk Atlas, Preliminary Technical Design Report. Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

    Google Scholar 

  • Conzen, M. R. G. (1969). Alnwick, Northumberland: A study in town-plan analysis. Institute of British Geographers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutter, S. L., Barnes, L., Berry, M., Burton, C., Evans, E., Tate, E., & Webb, J. (2008). A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global Environmental Change, 18, 598–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crichton, D. (2001). The implications of climate change for the insurance industry. Building Research Establishment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davoudi, S., Brooks, E., & Mehmood, A. (2013). Evolutionary resilience and strategies for climate adaptation. Planning Practice & Research, 28, 307–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davoudi, S., Shaw, K., Haider, L. J., Quinlan, A. E., Peterson, G. D., Wilkinson, C., Fünfgeld, H., Mcevoy, D., & Porter, L. (2012). Resilience: A bridging concept or a dead end? “Reframing” resilience: Challenges for planning theory and practice. Interacting traps: Resilience assessment of a pasture management system in Northern Afghanistan. Urban resilience: What does it mean in planning practice? Resilience as a useful concept for climate change adaptation? The politics of resilience for planning: A cautionary note. Planning Theory & Practice, 13, 299–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhar, T., & Khirfan, L. (2016). Community-based adaptation through ecological design: Lessons from Negril, Jamaica. Journal of Urban Design, 21, 234–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhar, T., & Khirfan, L. (2017a). Climate change adaptation in the urban planning and design research: Missing links and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 60, 602–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhar, T., & Khirfan, L. (2017b). A multi-scale and multi-dimensional framework for enhancing the resilience of urban form to climate change. Urban Climate, 17, 72–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dronkers, J., Gilbert, J. T. E., Butle, L. W., Carey, J. J., Campbell, J., James, E., Mckenzie, C., Misdorp, R., Quin, N., Ries, K. L., Schroder, P. C., Spradley, J. R., Titus, J. G., Vallianos, L., & Dadelszen, J. V. (1990). Strategies for adaptation to sea level rise. Report of the IPCC Coastal Zone Management Subgroup: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedeski, M., & Gwilliam, J. (2007). Urban sustainability in the presence of flood and geological hazards: The development of a GIS-based vulnerability and risk assessment methodology. Landscape and Urban Planning, 83, 50–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field, C. B., Barros, V., Stocker, T. F., Qin, D., Dokken, D. J., Ebi, K. L., Mastrandrea, M. D., Mach, K. J., Plattner, G.-K., Allen, S. K. Tignor, M., & Midgley, P. M. (Eds.). (2012). Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox-Lent, C., & Linkov, I. (2018). Resilience matrix for comprehensive urban resilience planning. In Y. Yamagata & A. Sharifi (Eds.), Resilience-oriented urban planning. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2014). Climate Change 2014. Synthesis Report. A contribution of Working on Climage Change I, II, III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishemo, A. (2009). Vulnerability of coastal urban settlements in Jamaica. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 20, 451–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jabareen, Y. (2015). The risk city. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Khoshnevis, B., & Chelleri, L. (2018). When a disaster risk reduction policy fails in the implementation stage: Eroding community resilience and traditional architecture in Iranian villages. In Y. Yamagata & A. Sharifi (Eds.), Resilience-oriented urban planning. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lennon, M., Scott, M., & O’Neill, E. (2014). Urban design and adapting to flood risk: The role of green infrastructure. Journal of Urban Design, 19, 745–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewsey, C., Cid, G., & Kruse, E. (2004). Assessing climate change impacts on coastal infrastructure in the Eastern Caribbean. Marine Policy, 28, 393–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindley, S. J., Handley, J. F., Theuray, N., Peet, E., & Mcevoy, D. (2006). Adaptation strategies for climate change in the urban environment: Assessing climate change related risk in UK urban areas. Journal of Risk Research, 9, 543–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschütz, B., Bremer, S., Runhaar, H., Hegger, D., Mees, H., Vervoort, J., & Wardekker, A. (2020). Local narratives of change as an entry point for building urban climate resilience. Climate Risk Management, 28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mondon, E. A., & Warner, P. S. (2012). Evaluation of a proposed solution to beach erosion at Negril. Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 43, 11–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mycoo, M., & Chadwick, A. (2012). Adaptation to climate change: The coastal zone of Barbados. Proceedings of the ICE-Maritime Engineering, 165, 159–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mycoo, M., & Donovan, M. G. (2017). A blue urban agenda: Adapting to climate change in the coastal cities of Caribbean and Pacific Small Island Developing States. Inter-American Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nofal, O. M., & Van De Lindt, J. W. (2020). Understanding flood risk in the context of community resilience modeling for the built environment: Research needs and trends. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otuokon, S. (2001). Case study of the Negril Environmental Protection Plan, Jamaica. Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelling, M. (2011). Adaptation to climate change: From resilience to transformation. Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrott, B. (2012). Study area: Long Bay, Bloody Bay, Orange Bay, and Negril, Jamaica. Saint Mary’s University and the Maritime Provinces Spatial Analysis Research Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, L., & Aikens-Mitchell, K. (2015). Climatic risk atlas of coastal hazards and risk in Negril. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahmstorf, S. (2007). A semi-empirical approach to projecting future sea-level rise. Science, 315, 368–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhiney, K. C. (2012). The Negril tourism industry: Growth, challenges and future prospects. Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 43, 24–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roaf, S., Crichton, D., & Nicol, F. (2005). Adapting buildings and cities for climate change. Architectural Press, Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E., Khan, S., Coutou, R., & Johnson, M. (2012). Shoreline changes and sea-level rise at Long Bay, Negril, Western Jamaica. Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 43, 35–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, D., Simpson, M. C., & Sim, R. (2012). The vulnerability of Caribbean coastal tourism to scenarios of climate change related sea level rise. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20, 883–898.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharifi, A. (2019). Urban form resilience: A meso-scale analysis. Cities, 93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharifi, A., & Yamagata, Y. (2014). Resilient urban planning: Major principles and criteria. Energy Procedia, 61, 1491–1495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit, B., Burton, I., Klein, R. J., & Wandel, J. (2000). An anatomy of adaptation to climate change and variability. Climatic Change, 45, 223–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit, B., Pilifosova, O., Burton, I., Challenger, B., Haq, S., Klein, R., & Yohe, G. (2001). Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity. In J. Mccarthy, O. F. Canziani, N. Leary, et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smit, B., & Wandel, J. (2006). Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16, 282–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, A., Shooya, O., Rokitzki, M., Bertrand, M., & Lissner, T. (2019). Climate change adaptation planning in practice: Insights from the Caribbean. Regional Environmental Change, 19, 2013–2025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Town and Country Planning Development Order. (2013). The town and country planning (Negril and Green Island Area) provisional development order. Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Kingston.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2010). Linking ecosystems to risk and vulnerability reduction, the case of Jamaica (2nd ed.). United Nations Environment Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veira, M. (2014). Beyond the Negril Beach Spin. The Gleaner. [online] Retrieved November 3, 2020, from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140511/focus/focus4.html

  • White, I. (2008). The absorbent city: Urban form and flood risk management. Proceedings of the ICE-Urban Design and Planning, 161, 151–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E., & Piper, J. (2010). Spatial planning and climate change. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, M., Mandal, A., Taylor, M., Burgess, C., Campbell, J., & Stepphenson, T. (2014). Flood risk and climate change in Negril, Jamaica: An assessment of combined terrestrial and coastal flood risk driven by projections of future climate, March 17–21. WCRP Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean: Developing, Linking and Applying Climate knowledge. Montevideo, Uruguay.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). (2014). Economic Data Search Tool. WTTC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, L., Cui, S., Tang, J., Nguyen, M., Liu, J., & Zhao, Y. (2019). Assessing the adaptive capacity of urban form to climate stress: The case study on urban heat island. Environmental Research Letters, 14.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Partnership for Canada-Caribbean Climate Change Adaptation (ParCA) (https://uwaterloo.ca/canada-caribbean-climate-change-adaptation/). I also acknowledge Prof. Luna Khirfan, the University of Waterloo, and Ms Jacqueline daCosta, the former president of the Commonwealth Association of Planners, for their enormous support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science, Engineering and Technology School, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

    Tapan Dhar

Authors
  1. Tapan Dhar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tapan Dhar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Islands and Small States Institute, Institute for European Studies, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Stefano Moncada

  2. Islands and Small States Institute, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Lino Briguglio

  3. Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Hilary Bambrick

  4. Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK

    Ilan Kelman

  5. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Ilan Kelman

  6. Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Catherine Iorns

  7. CERMES, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados

    Leonard Nurse

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dhar, T. (2021). Identifying Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Challenges in the Caribbean SIDS: An Urban Morphological Approach. In: Moncada, S., Briguglio, L., Bambrick, H., Kelman, I., Iorns, C., Nurse, L. (eds) Small Island Developing States. The World of Small States, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82774-8_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation