Cambio climático y conflictos socioambientales en ciudades intermedias de América Latina y el Caribe/ Climate change and environmental social conflicts in intermediary cities of Latin America and the Caribbean

  More than 50% of Latin America and Caribbean population lives in areas with a high risk of vulnerability to climate change. It is associated with several threats such as extreme rainfall, landslides, droughts, food shortages and health risks. Since 1990, the region has experienced sustained urban growth, especially in intermediate cities, where the informal residential area has doubled. Segregation has increased due to lack of access to land, which is why both variables (informality and segregation) should be considered when analyzing vulnerability to climate change in intermediate cities. On the other hand, in the field of urban studies, it is established that there is a close relationship between socio-environmental conflicts and the control of territories, especially due to changes in land use and the externalities related to it. Although the analyzed cases do not show a directly proportional relationship between socio-environmental conflict and climate change in intermediate cities, it is evident that changes in future climate conditions could exacerbate current scenarios.Más del 50% de la población de Latinoamérica y el Caribe (LAC) habita en zonas con riesgo alto de vulnerabilidad al cambio climático. A él se asocian varias amenazas como precipitaciones extremas, deslizamientos de tierras, sequías, escasez de alimentos y riesgos para la salud. La región experimenta desde 1990 un sostenido crecimiento urbano, sobre todo en ciudades intermedias, en las que la superficie residencial informal se ha duplicado. Se ha profundizado la segregación fruto de la falta de acceso al suelo; por ello, ambas variables (informalidad y segregación) deben ser consideradas al analizar la vulnerabilidad al cambio climático en ciudades intermedias. Con base en los datos de informes técnicos recientes en este artículo se concluye que las ciudades intermedias en LAC son más sensibles a los efectos del cambio climático y, al mismo tiempo, reúnen mejores condiciones para la adaptación. Por otra parte, en el campo de los estudios urbanos se establece que existe estrecha relación entre los conflictos socioambientales y el control de los territorios, sobre todo por los cambios de uso de suelo y las externalidades relacionadas con ello. Aunque en los casos analizados no se observa una relación directamente proporcional entre conflictividad socioambiental y cambio climático en las ciudades intermedias, es evidente que las modificaciones en las condiciones climáticas a futuro podrían exacerbar los escenarios actuales. Abstract More than 50% of Latin America and Caribbean population lives in areas with a high risk of vulnerability to climate change. It is associated with several threats such as extreme rainfall, landslides, droughts, food shortages and health risks. Since 1990, the region has experienced sustained urban growth, especially in intermediate cities, where the informal residential area has doubled. Segregation has increased due to lack of access to land, which is why both variables (informality and segregation) should be considered when analyzing vulnerability to climate change in intermediate cities. On the other hand, in the field of urban studies, it is established that there is a close relationship between socio-environmental conflicts and the control of territories, especially due to changes in land use and the externalities related to it. Although the analyzed cases do not show a directly proportional relationship between socio-environmental conflict and climate change in intermediate cities, it is evident that changes in future climate conditions could exacerbate current scenarios