115 Humanitarian Assistance the Margins. More than 50 percent of Colombo’s population lives in underserved settlements, the study reports, and migration and displacement are a particular challenge in these underresourced communities. “Research into migration in response to conflict or disasters highlights the fact that since people expect the situation at home to improve, they also expect to return,” said Michael Collyer, professor of geography at the University of Sussex and principal investigator of the study. But Colombo’s census data suggests that migrants more often stay within the metro area, largely in poorly resourced, low-income neighborhoods. Using novel methods combining satellite imagery, GIS software to create maps, and personal interviews, the researchers identified geographic factors—environmental hazards, lack of local resources, and mobility barriers—that prevent migrants from moving forward. Migrant Communities Take Root in High-Risk Areas, Satellite Imagery Shows Colombo is uniquely influenced by its geography. The coastal capital of an island nation, its location on the Indian Ocean cemented its status as the region’s largest port centuries ago. The metro area accounts for nearly 50 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). For rural Sri Lankans leaving home, the city’s prosperity promises jobs and income. But Colombo’s waterfront setting also means that its streets sit near sea level, intertwined with offshoots of the neighboring Kelani River—as a result, they are prone to flooding. Comparing satellite imagery of the city taken over the past few decades, the RGS team saw significant growth of migrant communities in some of the highest-risk floodplains where local regulations typically prevent construction. “In some of these settlements, there was an initial plan for formal development,” said Sakeena Alikhan, a researcher and GIS specialist at the Sri Lanka–based nonprofit Centre for Migration Research and Development (CMRD). “But the city found illegal encroachment near the riverbanks and canals, so it stopped building and people started to settle there informally.” The satellite imagery shows one case where land was cleared for construction, but then was quickly covered by informal settlements. “You see communities infilling near the water, and you get a sense of the precarity of these environments,” said Catherine Souch, head of research and higher education at RGS. Annual floods can leave swaths of these settlements in disrepair, forcing residents to relocate and preventing them from establishing permanent homes. “There is a temporary nature to these neighborhoods,” said Danesh Jayatilaka, research team chairman at CMRD. “People can’t get their feet on the ground and then can’t afford to move to a safer area or leave the city.” Mapping a Lack of Local Resources The informal origins of Colombo’s migrant settlements have impacts beyond housing security. Businesses and city services are usually underdeveloped, with neighborhoods lacking critical infrastructure such as water supply and sewage, community institutions such as churches and schools, and public places such as government offices and police stations. Working with GIS data from the Survey Department of Sri Lanka, the team created digital maps of several settlements in Colombo. “The GIS tools helped us document what kinds of resources these areas have,” Alikhan said. “The maps illustrate how specific communities access basic services, and whether people need to visit other areas for necessities.” The resource maps showed a wide gap in services, largely depending on the settlement’s geographic proximity to more developed neighborhoods. For example, Sammanthranapura—a small, dense community with a population of approximately 10,000 people—offers residents a public library, a police station, and two religious centers.
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