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Urban grooves, like this one in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pose an increasing threat.Credit
Scientific knowledge is mainly produced at a distance of risks that researchers seek to understand, and from people affected by the risks. But in some parts of the world, those looking for these risks are not separated: they work in unstable environments with limited resources and sometimes under the conditions that threaten life. A study published in nature this week1 It provides a reminder of the extent of risks when performing this type of research, and highlights the urgent need to better support such work.
Read the paper: The appointment of urban grooves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The subject of the study was urban grooves-often, often the expansion of channels that were mainly formed by the additional flow of rain water in unstable sandy soil. In most cities, many of them are in tropical areas, the formation of these grooves is increased when rain water that accumulates on roads and rooftops is directed without drainage systems suitable on unprotected soil. Once formed, these deep discounts on the ground extend for hundreds of meters, and over time, crowded cities, petals, infrastructure, destructive life and livelihoods.
The consequences of urban grooves have already been documented through studies in, for example, Nigeria2Uganda3Republic of the Congo4 And Brazil5. in nature Ticket1The researchers in Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Poland used a mixture of satellite photography and field research to produce a map at the countryside level of urban removals through the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They identified approximately 3000 dangers, spread over 26 out of 47 cities who studied. One of the most affected factors. There, the researchers identified 868 urban grooves with a joint length of 221 km.
The best appreciation for them is that about 120,000 people have been displaced by urban transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2004 and 2023. During the next ten years, 28 % of about 550,000 people living in the expected expansion zone will be displaced if nothing is done.
Continuous damage
At least some of what to do is clear. The composition and expansion can be often avoided through the best urban planning and improved sewage systems. But in many rapidly growing cities in low -income and medium -affected countries, urban planning efforts are not simply accompanying. Once a groove is formed, its installation to prevent further expansion comes with huge costs in places where financial resources are often limited, institutional mandate to deal with the problem is unclear and lacks technical ability. Thus, the damage continues.
The formation of the bowl in cities removes tens of thousands of people
People who bear the greatest burden tend to be the poorest of society. These individuals are often the ones who resort to building homes and stability on unsafe lands. They may understand the risks they face, but they have no real choice but to live with them. People who live on the brink of a binding often find that they are unable to sell their lands, and leave them trapped, without any other option but to search for shelter with relatives or friends in rainy nights, when there is a risk of further collapse.
This last study is a reminder that high -quality research often comes from working in difficult conditions with limited resources and far from high -tech laboratories. While the paper was under consideration natureHe was one of the authors of the study in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo when the renewed conflict broke out in the region. Electricity decreased for several hours during the day, and mobile networks-invisible obstacles in the final publication failed.
How to bring climate change and urban extension that is not planned
On a broader scale, the study is also a reminder of the responsibilities that such research brings. While performing their field work, scientists faced severe consequences to form a groove for people on the ground. During a field trip to Kinshasa in 2019, the team met with a mother and her family’s house near the edge of morals. Two days later, many of her children were killed when a groove collapsed overnight near the house of a relative that the family sought to shelter. At least 40 people died that night.
Like many others, the family in Kinshasa expressed its hope of the team that the research would lead to permanent solutions. Expectations must be reduced: Science alone cannot solve these problems and similar problems. For societies that live under immediate threats, the need to translate research into work is urgent. It should be seen to find solutions and behave only as a priority, but also as a social responsibility – it sets the needs of affected societies first.
The research should be supported in difficult conditions better, financing and appreciating its own terms. Institutions, financiers and publishers must show increasing awareness of what these studies require to produce and the importance of spreading results. The final purpose of science is not only an understanding of the world, but also to help make it safer. The ecosystem of the entire research should be combined to help in this goal.