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Disaster risk: Conditions, trends and impacts183and flood-risk areas in Central Europe. In Africa, sea-levelrise has been identified as a cause of heritage loss in coastalGhana, where Fort Peasantine in the Volta region has beenlost. In Mali, drought has caused the abandonment of areaswith significant architectural heritage, placing these buildingsat risk from lack of maintenance. 48 The ancient citadeland surrounding cultural landscape of the Iranian city ofBam, where 26,000 people lost their lives in the earthquakeof December 2003, was simultaneously inscribed onUNESCO’s World Heritage List and on the List of WorldHeritage in Danger in 2004. World Heritage List status hasenabled UNESCO to lead international efforts to salvage thecultural heritage of this devastated city. The potential forprotecting global architectural heritage through the inclusionof World Heritage sites in urban disaster managementplans has also been realized – for example, in Central Quito(Peru) and Havana (Cuba). 49When places of cultural importance are damaged ordestroyed by disaster, the impacts go far beyond economicvalue. 50 Cultural heritage can provide disaster-affectedcommunities with a much needed sense of continuity andidentity during reconstruction, as well as a future resourcefor economic development. Cultural heritage is particularlyat risk in the period following a disaster, when the urgencyto address the basic needs of the population, combined withthe interests of developers and entrepreneurs, often leads toemergency response activities and planning and rehabilitationschemes for recovery that are insensitive to the culturalheritage of the affected areas or the social traditions of theirinhabitants. With this in mind, many have called for culturalheritage to be integrated within the general framework ofdevelopment and planning, as well as within existing disastermanagement policies and mechanisms. 51URBAN PROCESSESGENERATING DISASTERRISKThis section presents an examination of the root causes ofvulnerability in cities exposed to natural and human-madedisaster risk. First, the impact of patterns of growth of megaand large cities and of the many intermediate and smallerhuman settlements on disaster risk is reviewed. Second, theways in which urban processes generate risk through modifyingthe physical environment and through the extent andimpact of poverty in urban slums is examined. Third, the roleof urban management and, in particular, of building construction,urban planning and the influence of international actionon urban development is reviewed. These topics are returnedto in Chapters 8 and 11, where experience of, and futurepotential for, disaster risk reduction is reviewed.Growth and diversity of urban areasRapid urban growth, coupled with geomorphology, hydrology,politics, demography and economics, can create andexacerbate landscapes of disaster risk in a variety of ways(see Box 7.8). Global statistics on urban growth are asBox 7.7 Flood hazard threat to cultural heritage inGenoa, ItalyThe city of Genoa is located in the Liguria region, in northwest Italy, where earthquakes,landslides and floods represent the major natural hazards being historically experienced. Thesenatural hazards pose a serious threat to the cultural heritage of Genoa, which hosts one of thelargest medieval centres in Europe, with about 150 noble palaces and many valuable architectonicevidences. The historic city centre is particularly subject to floods that are produced bythe many streams crossing the area and partially conveyed by hydraulic structures built duringthe last two centuries. Failures in the artificial drainage system are, therefore, the main reason offlooding for the ancient neighbourhoods of the town.The vulnerability of local monumental heritage against flooded waters was first broughtto attention following the 1970 flooding, which caused 19 casualties, 500 homeless and losses ofabout US$60 million in the productive sector.An extensive survey of the available records of flooding episodes during the last 100years was completed in order to derive a map of historically flooded areas. The studyconcludes that the vulnerability to flooding of cultural monuments can hardly be addressed atthe scale of a single monument or art piece. Thus, projects involving the whole area of thehistoric centre are recommended. Results from the study also illustrate that the problem ismainly of a hydrologic/hydraulic nature; therefore, hydraulic solutions must be at the base of theintervention.Source: Lanza, 2003impressive as those on disaster loss. 52 UN-Habitat’s State ofthe World’s Cities 2006/2007 shows that during 2000 to2015, 65 million new urban dwellers will be added annually,93 per cent of these in developing countries. Asia and Africaare the most rapidly urbanizing regions. In 2005, urbanpopulations were 39.9 per cent in Asia and 39.7 per cent inAfrica, increasing to 54.5 per cent and 53.5 per cent, respectively,in 2030. 53 By this time, over 80 per cent of LatinAmerica’s population will be urban based.Urban settlements are becoming larger and morenumerous through a combination of natural populationgrowth and in-migration. Political stability and economicopportunity can lead to small rural settlements expandinginto towns, as is happening in Central America, and takingon new social and environmental challenges and opportunitiesin which urban managers might not be experienced. At alarger scale, rapid expansion of urban corridors, such as thatalong China’s seaboard, can reconfigure risk profiles at theregional level.For cities, there is a constant pressure to keep pacewith, if not lead, change in regional and global economicdevelopment. This, in turn, can be a force contributing touncontrollable urban expansion and the generation of morevulnerability to disasters. Mumbai, for instance, shifted itsindustrial base from import substituting to export orientationin response to changes in the global political economy.This led to industrial relocation from the central city tohighways extending beyond the city limits, catalysingmassive population growth in the urban periphery. Somesettlements reportedly grew to six times their originalpopulation, outstripping the capacity of urban planning andinfrastructure provision. 54Foreign investment can bring new prosperity to a cityand its residents and be a resource for risk management.However, competing for foreign capital investment can alsoRapid urban growth… can create andexacerbatelandscapes of risk ina variety of ways