Mobility Resilience to Climate Change: People's Adaptation of Daily Travel and Road Infrastructure to Recurrent Flooding in Dakar, Senegal

In recent decades, the impacts of the rainy season have become more intense in many cities in West Africa, due to climate change and urban growth. This paper investigates the mobility resilience of urban residents to recurrent flooding in Dakar, Senegal. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with Dakar residents and informal public transport operators in 2021–2023, along with analyses of the 2015 Dakar household travel survey and field observations, the results show that recurrent flooding exacerbates mobility challenges for urban residents, in particular the poor and those living in the peripheries. In order to maintain access to essential goods and services, residents, along with local communities, develop mobility and infrastructural adaptations to flooding. These results lead to a discussion about mobility resilience to climate change and the necessary adaptation of daily travel, public transport services and road infrastructure.