Isabel Qi

This research examines the relationship between disaster risk finance and spatial development in Guangdong. Given the province’s high exposure to flood hazards and recent pilot programs of catastrophe insurance, it is important to understand how recent changes in disaster risk finance are shaping spatial development decisions, specifically those related to infrastructure, built environments, and land use. Drawing on information gathered from in-depth interviews with government officials and industry experts and document analysis, this project addresses two key questions. First, how is disaster insurance shaping municipal governments’ built environment planning decisions, both in terms of what is planned and when planning takes place? Second, how is disaster insurance impacting the long-standing land-based finance model that Chinese municipal governments depend on as a major revenue source? This research contributes to understanding how the financialization of public goods for disaster resilience is shaping cities’ climate change vulnerability and adaptation.