By Vanesa Castán Broto, University of Sheffield; Emmanuel Osuteye, UCL, and Linda Westman, University of Sheffield

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Flooding is common in informal settlements in Bwaise, a neighbourhood in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Bwaise’s residents are largely excluded from planning and local decision-making processes, and have poor housing and limited access to sanitation and other essential services.

Flooding makes matters much worse. During a visit in November 2019, residents showed us that they dig trenches around their houses and build small retaining walls to prevent water from flooding in. Public toilets are raised about a metre above the ground.

Bwaise lies in a swampy valley between several of Kampala’s many hills and was already prone to flooding. But floods are now happening more and more often because of climate…