Exploring the impact of climate change on public space

Abstract

TPS 662: Climate change effects on labour, migration and infections, Exhibition Hall, Ground floor, August 28, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background/Aim: Over the past decades, incessant climate change remains a major source of an impediment to sustainable city’s development and has jeopardized the brilliant gesture towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This study aims at exploring the unpleasant impacts of climate change on Nigerian’s environment as manifested through continuous changing in weather patterns, flooding, rising sea levels temperature, air pollution, and heat island effects. A knowledge gap in this study exists in respect to means of mitigating the impacts of climate change on built environments and subsequent humans’ adaptability. Methods: A survey of random sampling consisting of 200 respondents who are environmental experts and policy makers, possessing adequate knowledge on climate change through a completed self-administered questionnaire at South west region of Nigeria was initiated. Logistic regression analyses of SPSS (version 22), were carried out to examine associations between the impacts of climate change on various environmental attributes as identified through principal component analysis. Results: Findings of this study present holistically, the climate change mitigation through the followings: (i) Parks, green spaces, and open spaces that play an important role in reducing emissions of CO2 that contribute to global climate change, (ii) Pedestrianized environment remains as the best approaches that could be used in reducing carbon footprint in cities, (iii) Climate change mitigation could be achieved through provision of stronger urban-rural connections. Conclusions: The study suggests that mitigating the effects of climate change on public space would enhance and sustain residents’ environment for many years to come. Safeguarding human comfort and health in Nigeria is important, hence there is urgent need to improve peoples’ awareness, and forecasting of climatic hazards. It is recommended that urgent need is to be sought in order to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning in Nigeria.