Citizen-government negotiation: cases of in riverside informal settlements at flood risk

Residents of urban informal riverside settlements are regularly threatened by floods and simultaneously are facing potential eviction, particularly in multi-hazard prone cities in developing countries in Asia. Governments usually choose relocation as a preventive measure due to the high exposure of riverside communities whereas ignoring the repercussions on the resident's socio-economic conditions of these dramatical changes. However, residents, despite the vulnerabilities, aim to remain in their original homes and to pursue possibilities to negotiate with the governments and ideally achieve fair alternatives for reducing the flood risk and change the negative public image of their communities. This study explores three scenarios of which resulted in failure, success and uncertain outcomes and exposes the governance challenges for a fair citizen-government negotiation.