MAPS Webinar Title: Unsettled Grounds Climate Risk, Migration, and the Quest for Secure Housing.
Friday, 12 December, 2025 h 11:00-12:00
Speakers:
- Laura Colini, University Iuav of Venice, Italy
UNESCO Chair Social and Spatial Inclusion of International Migrants - Urban policies and practices, University Iuav of Venice.
She is PhD in Urban, Regional and Environmental Design, Habil. in Urban Studies. For over twenty years, she has worked on socio spatial inequalities and multilevel public policies on housing and migration as researcher and policy advisor to major European programmes and international organizations. Programme Expert for URBACT (2004 2023), she advised hundreds of municipalities on housing, migration, education, culture, and urban regeneration. She contributed to EU Urban Agenda Partnerships on Affordable Housing, Urban Poverty, Migrant Inclusion, and Culture, and evaluated New European Bauhaus projects. Researcher at IUAV University of Venice (H-City, UNESCO Chair on Migration) and adjunct professor in Venice, Florence, and Paris (EUP). Co founder of Tesserae (Berlin) and MiMetis (Italy), member of the European Responsible Housing Award Jury, INURA, and Forum Sociale per l’Abitare.
- Gianfranco Pozzer, University Iuav of Venice, Italy
UNESCO Chair Social and Spatial Inclusion of International Migrants - Urban policies and practices, University Iuav of Venice.
He is PhD in New Technologies and Territorial and nvironmental Information. His research focuses on urban and territorial studies, with particular attention to processes of urban and spatial transformation under dynamic conditions and multiple risks.
Abstract
Climate change, migration, and inadequate housing are tightly interlinked challenges Yet in most Sub Saharan countries international migrants, refugees, IDPs as well as internal migrants residing in informal settlements remain largely absent from national climate and housing policies Moreover, international migrants and refugees often lack legal recognition and protection, limiting their rights to secure, adequate housing Informal settlements and IDPs/refugee camps typically suffer from inadequate infrastructure, insecure tenure, and high exposure to floods, heat, and other climate related risks The project proposes a methodology applicable across the region, combined with in depth testing on the ground at neighbourhood and camp level in Ethiopia and Kenya By grounding its work in rigorous spatial multi vulnerability assessment, policy analysis, and community perspectives, this research proposal intends to provide actionable, rights based pathways for improving housing conditions and enhancing climate resilience Ultimately, it aims to strengthen the ability of vulnerable communities to live safely, securely, and with dignity in an era of accelerating climate risk
The webinar is intended to share the research idea with MAPS partners, gather further inputs from different disciplines, lay the basis for wider collaboration, and engage MAPS junior researchers based in Ethiopia and Kenya in the pilot activities