ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that urban disasters in Southeast Asia have been socially and politically produced. It presents the ways in which political ecology challenges the dominant view of disasters. The political economy of urbanization in the metropolises has caused urban poor settlements to become the most vulnerable to floods. Urban planners at both the national and sub-national levels rarely considered flooding as a factor in their plans. The chapter discusses how urbanization in the region has not only heightened vulnerability to disaster of those living in urban areas but has also unevenly distributed vulnerability. It focuses on the historical production of flooding in the region's three largest megacities: Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila, since a number of similarities between the cities exist. Disasters are outcomes of urban development, particularly political decisions, economic interests, and power relations. The chapter concludes with a few remarks concerning what the findings reveal about urbanization and increasing risk of disaster in Southeast Asia.
