The rapid growth of many cities in the developing world, especially in the tropics, has resulted in the increased incidence and severity of urban environmental hazards, such as slope failure and flooding. In many regions, heavy rainfall events or alterations to natural environmental characteristics often trigger the incidence of hazards. For some cities, vulnerability to hazards is often exacerbated by local topographic conditions. In the case of Latin America, despite a relative decline in overall population growth in many cities, physical expansion during the past few decades has resulted in increased vulnerability, with the occupation of hillsides, slopes and other land subject to instability. In assessing urban vulnerability, the physical characteristics of the environment as well as human modifications consequent on urban growth need to be examined. This paper considers and examines the vulnerability of urban settlements to hazard (landslide) risk through a case study of Niteroi city. Niteroi, which forms part of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, has in recent years experienced significant increases in the levels of environmental vulnerability through continued urban expansion pressures, natural resource exploitation and new processes of land use change in an area characterized by mountainous topography. The paper attempts to provide a better understanding of the causative factors of landslides and of their impact, and to suggest ways such phenomena can be better managed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
