This PICO session will address natural hazards and risk in urban areas of developing countries, including the role of humans in magnifying or decreasing those hazards. In urban areas of developing countries, hazard and risk analysis presents challenges such as (i) data collection, (ii) rapid informal and unplanned development creating large demands on services and infrastructure, (iii) complex natural-human systems, (iv) limited resources and capacity, (v) interaction of natural and anthropogenic hazards including cascading and concurrent hazards and (vi) communication between science, policy and the public. Here, we define “developing countries” as countries/regions with a low to medium human development index, according to the United Nations. We welcome submissions from a range of stakeholders to share their innovative theoretical and practical ideas and success stories of how urban risk can be understood and addressed in cities and towns across developing countries. Presentations will cover a variety of topics including: database and archive construction; modelling, instrumentation and tools; conceptual understanding of multi-hazards and complex natural-technological systems; and communication and policy. We anticipate a lively discussion and the sharing of best practice and novel ideas to reduce the impact of hazard events in urban areas across developing countries. This session is particularly topical given that the internationally-agreed ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ have included (Goal 11) the need to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.