Urban Planning and Climate Adaptation in Peru. Analysis of the Main Methods of Risk Prevention and Mitigation in Cities

Peru is one of the South American countries that suffers from natural disasters as a result of the El Niño phenomenon, a climate cycle that alters the climate of the Pacific Ocean and is manifested with abnormal rainfall during the months of December and March. This phenomenon has a significant impact on coastal cities, causing a situation of urban fragility. In the face of this, the Peruvian government has implemented regulatory measures, which are the result of Law No. 29664 of the National Disaster Risk Management System (SINAGERD) of 2017. Its scope includes measures for risk prevention and assessment. As well as a series of technical manuals that allow a correct diagnosis of the territory. The present study delves into this methodological framework of risk management, analyzing the proposed schemes and their adaptation to the different urban realities of the country. In other words, it delves into the content of the different manuals with the intention of identifying both their positive and negative points. It also assesses the relevance of these processes as part of a preventive and not just reactive strategy in disaster situations. The results suggest that this methodological framework omits urban characteristics such as vulnerability factors such as proximity to services, access to housing, and transportation, among others. That is, it has a very open and generic approach, which allows discretion in the choice of risk indicators. That is why it produces diverse and even contradictory results. Also, these documents have to omit the geographical differences of Peru, which is a country with numerous ecological floors and problems arising from climate change. In conclusion, climate change adaptation policies omit the peculiarities of urban growth or the phenomenon of global urbanization.