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The Palgrave Handbook of Climate Resilient Societies pp 937–959Cite as

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Transitioning to Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Abstract

Despite spending US$140 billion on infrastructure projects in 2018, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) still lag behind other global regions in terms of investment in infrastructure. This is of grave concern, since infrastructure is often regarded as society’s backbone thanks to the essential social and development capabilities that it enables. If incorrectly implemented, infrastructure can likewise result in harmful and negative impacts, thus exacerbating conditions of inequality and poverty. In order for infrastructure to become an enabler of benefits and thus function as a link for development in LAC, it must overcome the series of challenges and disruptions that affect household well-being and enterprise productivity. However, several of the threats that infrastructure systems and their performance need to confront in LAC are both difficult to measure and highly uncertain. This is the case for traditional challenges such as urbanization processes, as well as new ones, such as climate change, pandemics, and other potential risk conditions that the region may have to face. As such, this entry presents a review of the various challenges, difficulties, and uncertainties that LAC infrastructure must face. At the same time, we discuss frameworks, tools, and experiences that could aid infrastructure systems in adequately responding to such challenges given their uncertain nature. It also provides a discussion on the various levels at which resilience should be implemented when designing, planning, and operating regional infrastructure systems. Ultimately, enabling resilient-based strategies for infrastructure investments across different levels of implementation would facilitate sustainable development in an uncertain and changing region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Homero A. Paltán

  2. Institute of Geography, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Homero A. Paltán

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  1. Our Future Water, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

    Robert C. Brears

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Paltán, H.A. (2021). Transitioning to Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: Brears, R.C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Climate Resilient Societies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42462-6_124

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