The Dynamics of Urban Land Cover And Residents’ Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Case Study of Cocody District, Abidjan, Côte D’ivoire

Abstract

The land use/cover of the district of Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire is undergoing, regardless to climate change induced warm days, high pressure linked to a fast urbanization process. This current study seeks to better understand the dynamics of the land use/cover in Cocody and the impacts of an increasing temperature trend for human security by assessing Cocody inhabitants’ vulnerability to climate change. The approach is based on integrated methods, including satellite images processing, forty years daily temperature analysis, people’s perception to warm days, field observation, and population data. The results reveal that Cocody is experiencing a fast land use/cover change dominated by a rapid growth of the buildings and a noticeable decrease in the natural environment. A significant increasing trend of the maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and mean temperature were also highlighted. Three climatic periods ranging from colder (1972-1986), moderate (1987-2002) and hotter (2003-2012) were differentiated. Cocody was concluded to be highly vulnerable to climate change induced extreme heat condition which could be aggravated due to its increasing population and the percentage of children and elderly. Creating more green spacesis, therefore, recommended in the more susceptible areas to counter the harmful effects of the climate.