Abstract
Climate change is having in human history the same effects as the opening of the Pandora ’s Box in Greek mythology. Although some still argue that the consequences of climate change might be trivial or harmless, reality shows that at least some of these consequences are already severe and far-reaching. This is particularly true for climate-induced migration and urbanisation, a two-directional problem: urban areas are already accounting for 75% of global emissions, but the impacts of climate change are increasingly bringing people to urbanised areas, where they contribute to even greater emissions.
In this chapter on climate-induced migration and urbanisation, we take a closer look at the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The city and its surroundings – including some 70 small coral islands in the Makassar Strait - are affected by impacts of climate change, especially water scarcity. Makassar`s population is growing due to migration flows from nearby rural areas and islands, and the city struggles to meet the needs of its inhabitants. Because political attention and adaptation planning is often focussed on megacities, peripheral cities like Makassar as well as and medium and small-size towns might soon become hotspots of climate change-related urbanisation.
