Most studies and policy in disaster risk reduction have focused on either what people lack (their vulnerability or their capacities to deal with risk (their resilience). Few studies and decision-making processes have focused on the role of emotions in informal urban settings. However, the results of a four-year study including interviews, three international workshops, and 24 community-led initiatives of risk reduction in Cuba, Colombia, and Chile, shows that emotions play a fundamental role in the design and planning of grassroots initiatives. Anxiety, pride, anger, uncertainty, and awe are crucial in risk-related agency. These emotions help building leadership and engagement and are decisive in establishing empathy, trust, and legitimacy-all which constitute the basis for change towards social and environmental justice. Phenomenology can help address connections between emotions, agency, and space. To succeed, risk response frameworks must recognize the interplay between emotions, behaviors, and politics.