Abstract
Spatial planning holds a key role in preventing or mitigating the impacts of climate change on both cities and rural areas, taking a forward-thinking and holistic approach to urban and regional development. As such, spatial planning deals with challenges occurring at different scales and across sectors. The international literature points out the need for horizontal and vertical cooperation to tackle climate change impacts. This paper discusses the general challenges for climate proofing across planning levels, sectors, and areas and provides a systematic overview of challenges that would affect an integrative theoretical framework for climate proofing. Based on the latter, the study ultimately aims at presenting a novel theoretical framework for Climate Proofing specific to spatial planning involving a multi-sectoral perspective. An iterative process was used for conceptual development, based on a literature review followed by external feedback meetings with the core team of planning experts responsible for exchange across federal states and two workshops with focus groups of experts of planning departments responsible for federal, regional, and local spatial planning. Implementation and further development of the framework are planned as the second phase of this study. By specifically addressing the challenges relating to cross-regional and cross-sectoral planning, this novel framework attempts to discuss the (i) consideration of the hierarchy of climate proofing measures through enhanced vertical and horizontal cooperation as well as the (ii) long-term institutionalisation of integrative planning processes across planning borders. It attempts also to (iii) foster the consideration of co-benefits for joint adaptation purposes and climate change mitigation through encouraging multi-disciplinary perspectives
Highlights
Climate change can bring about a change in the frequency and intensity of meteorological phenomena
But with a sectoral focus on water management, Haaren and Moss [49] emphasise the need for more integrative planning across sectors, planning areas, and policy levels, which they attribute to the complexity of current challenges, as well as the scarcity of public financial resources attributed to these tasks
Despite the fact that some frameworks focus on specific aspects of the process, many have a similar procedural design. They include processes of stakeholder analyses or engagement, the definition of common objectives, the implementation of measures for climate proofing, or, in some cases, the monitoring and evaluation of these measures in relation to the objectives defined initially. These frameworks cannot reflect the specifications of spatial planning, for example, the relevance of tiering among instruments of spatial planning to identify options for diverse types of climate proofing measures adequately or standardised elements of consultation in spatial planning determined through legal framing conditions or thematic limitations which require cooperation with other disciplines beyond spatial planning
Summary
Climate change can bring about a change in the frequency and intensity of meteorological phenomena. Awareness of and attention in the planning process to other aspects, such as the effects of heat and drought and response to them, have only grown recently In response to these different climatic changes, planners and decision-makers try to find long-term measures to reduce negative impacts, often referred to as “climate proofing”. This article, based on a large case study in the eastern part of Austria involving three different federal states—each with its own legal planning law and instruments—discusses a framework for an integrative systematic approach, across planning borders, to the complex challenges of climate proofing In doing so, this communication addresses the following research question: how can a theoretical framework integrate the opportunities of climate proofing across sectors, policy levels, and planning areas?. The study aims at (1) discussing the general challenges for climate proofing across planning levels, sectors, and areas, (2) providing a systematic overview of challenges that would affect an integrative theoretical framework for climate proofing and based on the latter the study aspires to (3) present a novel theoretical framework for Climate Proofing specific to spatial planning involving a multi-sectoral perspective
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