Towards a Good Urban Climate – 12 Rules for Strategic and Spatial Interventions

Abstract

Global climate change results in an increasing number of extreme events such as heavy precipitation and droughts, prolonged heat and the associated formation of heat islands in cities around the world. Cities and municipalities are however vulnerable to such extreme conditions and rapid changes and need to develop innovating ways of coping with these challenges. In this paper, we argue that a good urban climate is a stepping stone to a livable environment for healthy communities and that the promotion of climate-adapted developments can lead to significantly more robust and resilient cities and communities. By producing a practice-oriented know-how and illustrating our points with three concrete urban design and planning projects, we not only point out the relevance of integrating urban climate considerations into urban design and planning projects, but also take a step forward in bridging climate research with urban planning and design practices.