Managed retreat has become a recommended adaptation strategy for hazard-prone coastal cities. The study aimed to improve considerations for the contextual factors that influence the success of managed retreat and resettlement projects in Metro Manila. Data were collected through a mixed-method approach consisting of a screening of relevant literature, a qualitative case analysis of resettlement projects, and a workshop series with Philippine stakeholders. It turned out that the resettlement of informal settlers is a central element of urban development. Though in-city resettlement is preferred, the majority of existing and planned projects are developed in off-city locations.

The Philippines is argued as the only Southeast Asian country where informal settlers’ communities have been self-organized and produced discernible impacts on the country’s urban policies. As one of the high risk countries, fifty percent of the country’s informal settlements are located in danger and disaster-prone areas. However, informal settlement upgrading has not reached its significance in disaster mitigation and community resilience building. At the national level, on-site upgrading is not established in disaster risk management or climate change adaptation strategies, which explains the lack of strategic approaches for local implementation. Metro Manila serves as a suitable backdrop in this sense to study informal settlement upgrading under the condition of high risk and rapid urbanization with a high civil society engagement.

Myanmar is among the most vulnerable states with respect to many kinds of natural hazards. Since 2008, when the Tropical Cyclone Nargis had such a disastrous impact, public awareness to natural hazards has been increasing. It was thus not unexpected that in 2009 the Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction was introduced (last updated in 2017) and in 2013 the Natural Disaster Management Law was passed. In the Action Plan of 2017, 32 priority actions were established and related responsibilities defined for different administrative and spatial levels. Structures were defined for the specific functions and duties, and in particular for the methods and forms of collaboration between the institutions on different levels. But implementation remains weak. Moreover, the goals set for the first phase (until 2020), for instance that disaster management bodies at all levels should then be fully functional, seem somewhat optimistic.

Remote sensing has evolved to become a key tool for various fields of environmental analysis, thus actively informing policy across areas and domains. To evaluate the degree to which remote sensing is contributing to the science of ecologically-oriented urban planning, we carried out a systematic literature review using the SCOPUS database, searching for articles integrating knowledge in urban planning, remote sensing and ecology. We reviewed 186 articles, analysing various issues in urban environments worldwide.