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This paper considers the potential contribution of traditional construction techniques and materials to rebuilding in Port-au-Prince and other areas in Haiti that were devastated by the 2010 earthquake. Based on different examples of housing that collapsed or was damaged by the earthquake, it shows how traditional construction systems often demonstrated better resilience to earthquakes than buildings constructed with modern materials. But it also describes the erosion of traditional knowledge and the pressure on those with traditional building skills to work with modern materials and techniques. It highlights the need to better understand and draw on traditional knowledge while also recognizing that this knowledge needs to evolve and innovate. This includes, where appropriate, the use of modern techniques and materials to help rehabilitate traditional structures and thus combine safety with preservation of a rich architectural heritage.

Eviction trends worldwide and the role of locl authorities in implementing the right to housing is based on the findings of a programe to monitor forced evictions undertaken by the Habitat International Coalitin. It outlines how the right to housing is increasingly explicit in international law and in some countres' constitutions and how few govrern ments act on it. It reviews the 40 cases of eviction one oftrhe most blatant and critical vi-lations of the right to housing which the Coalition documented between 1987 and 1993, and discusses the similarities and differences of these cases and the actors involved.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential effects of climate change on the habitat and human settlements in Mexico, through an analysis of three regions that are vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as droughts, floods and hurricanes. Design/methodology/approach -The research process included fieldwork in the states of Oaxaca, Tabasco and Yucatán, and a historical study of hydrometeorological events in each region. The authors sought to identify a means of interpreting these events linked to climate variability, on the basis of the history of disasters, the environment and the habitat. The local climatic indications were compared to the IPCC's global successes, to show that contradictions do not exist but that it is difficult to apply the IPCC's findings at a local level, given the considerable margin of uncertainty. Findings -The indications of the effects of climate change make it possible to foresee that the most vulnerable populations will be the ones facing the strongest impact in the future. Practical implications -The research has direct implications on urban and housing policies, offering a roadmap to design climate change adaptation strategies; adaptive capacity not only requires political commitment. Social implications -It is also related to social and economic development and an "integral risk management" approach rather than a "civil protection" strategy. Originality/value -The main interest of this research is to show that a multidisciplinary approach is essential in order to understand the local implications of climate change.