This special issue is based on the 8th edition of the ICBR, which had a special focus on strengthening the global knowledge base on vulnerability, forced displaced people, local communities, particularly those living in informal areas and disaster-prone rural environments, as well as heritages at risk, namely cultural landscapes, old settlements, vernacular architecture, monuments as well as intangible assets comprising the set of ideas, practices, beliefs, traditions and values that create a group's cultural identity.