The role of colonial pasts in shaping climate futures: Adaptive capacity in Georgetown, Guyana

Abstract

This article examines how colonial histories continue to shape contemporary climate futures by influencing adaptive capacity in Georgetown, Guyana. Drawing on qualitative research, the authors analyse how colonial-era planning practices, infrastructural decisions and governance arrangements have produced enduring vulnerabilities that constrain present-day climate adaptation efforts. The paper argues that understanding climate adaptation requires attention to historical political–economic processes and their spatial manifestations, particularly in post-colonial urban contexts.