Deltas in developing countries are experiencing rapid and unplanned urbanization, including increasing vulnerability from hydro-climatic hazards, global climate change, and social-ecological imbalances. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta within Bangladesh is no exception to these. Unchecked and haphazard growth in urban areas and inadequate infrastructure and essential services are widespread here, particularly in peri-urban areas (e.g., the transition zones between urban and rural areas). Given these challenges, the problems of livelihoods in peri-urban areas are complex and multifaceted, shaped by a combination of environmental change, socio-economic factors, and the actions of various societal actors evolving through informal processes. The principal livelihood challenges are: (i) exposure to multiple hazards, (ii) lack of inclusive and stable income and employment opportunities, (iii) inadequate and poor-quality housing and infrastructure, (iv) limited and unequal access to essential services, and (v) informal community agency, along with limited collective facilitation for local governance. Traditionally, these challenges are studied in isolation and mainly in a top-down approach, which provides an incomplete understanding of the underlying causes and required adaptive management to future-proof livelihoods in delta regions. Therefore, this project, FLASH, employs a “living lab” approach that ensures co-creation and collective management to answer an overarching scientific question: "How to create sustainable, climate-resilient livelihood options for peri-urban populations in Bangladesh?” Using a systems dynamics approach, it investigates the interrelationships between livelihood drivers, processes, and outcomes. The living labs will be anchored at local educational institutions such as high schools.
FLASH divides its studies into six interlinked scientific work packages (WPs): WP1 on natural hazards affecting peri-urban livelihoods, WP2 on inclusive economic opportunities for non-migration, WP3 on housing and physical infrastructure, WP4 on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and public health, WP5 on co-governance for just climate adaptation, and WP6 on livelihood systems model. Each WP involves a transdisciplinary team of researchers, NGO professionals, and public institutions. FLASH will devise adaptive strategies following a bottom-up and integrated approach for inclusive and gender-responsive economic opportunities, housing and infrastructure, WASH and health services through pilots in peri-urban communities, and locally tailored policy and formal-informal co-governance measures. It will generate new insights that promote transformative changes, encouraging new investments and more effective interventions in peri-urban Bangladesh. Such interventions will guide the proper development and functioning of peri-urban areas, promote climate-resilient, gender-responsive livelihood opportunities, and ultimately pave the way for sustainable urbanization in the GBM delta as targeted in Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
