Urban disaster risk : evaluating disaster risk reduction integration with urban planning curriculums at South African Universities

Abstract

The number of recorded disasters has been shifting from predominantly rural areas to urban areas. Consequently, the increase in complexity, frequency and even severity of disasters in such urban areas are a growing concern. By integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) with urban planning (UP), it is anticipated that nations can increase the overall level of disaster resilience of their urban areas. This is echoed by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), which encourages DRR integration in UP to increase urban disaster resilience. A potential starting point for such integration is at a university level where training and education in DRR can be mainstreamed into key fields such as urban planning and architecture. Although this type of curriculum integration is crucial to facilitate the development of urban planning students who are more aware of disaster risk, it is often difficult to estimate how far Urban Planning Departments in South African Universities have gone to ensure the integration of DRR into their existing curriculums. This dissertation will explore the current status quo, identify obstacles, and identify potential solutions towards greater integration of DRR into UP curriculums at South African Universities. As a point of departure, comprehensive literature reviews were conducted focusing on creating a basic understanding of the urban disaster risk profile of South Africa. Furthermore, the theoretical underpinnings of DRR integration with UP and the international and national frameworks in favour of DRR integration with UP were evaluated, and finally the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in integrating DRR in Urban and Regional Planning (URP) curriculums were reviewed. This was followed by an empirical study that utilised an exploratory mixed methods research design in order to gain insights into the integration of DRR into existing URP curricula. Primary data was collected in the form of electronic surveys that were sent out to lecturers of 11 South African Universities that offer courses in URP. Frequency and descriptive analysis were used so examine the data collected. It was established that only a few South African universities have integrated concepts related to DRR in their existing URP modules. Additionally, it appears that when DRR is integrated into curriculums it is only offered at a post-graduate course level. This means that many planning students will exit university at undergraduate level without ever having been exposed to DRR concepts. Another, distressing indicator seems to point to the fact that most university lecturers in UP have a limited level of awareness on the topic of DRR integration and DRR integration policies. A plethora of obstacles were also found, including a lack of understanding of the field, lack of academic resources, lack of finances, complexity of the subject matter, and problematic notions such as not seeing value in integrating DRR with Urban Planning. These obstacles were found to hinder the integration of DRR in curricula at South African universities. The study recommends that HEIs review their URP curriculums to include

DRR in both undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as invest in broadening the knowledge and understanding of DRR among UP lecturers.