Towards Defining Climate Adaptation Literacy in the Context of Urban Resilience

Abstract

Abstract The climate crisis intensifies rapidly, straining the urban environment and society. Addressing climate change requires collaborative efforts, integrating physical resilience with knowledge empowerment. Formal and informal knowledge are vital for effective adaptation. In the updated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Report an emphasis on knowledge and its role in reducing response risk was highlighted. At the urban scale, adaptation knowledge is essential, bridging social and technical systems. Here, community knowledge evolves from a passive component within a greater adaptation strategy to an active, integral element. This paper develops a unique definition of climate adaptation literacy for the urban built environment based on an extensive literature review on urban climate adaptation, guided by the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) 2025 Framework. The results of this work highlight existing gaps in climate adaptation knowledge and present urban climate adaptation literacy as a means to measure the response risk. These insights aid the formulation of resilience policies and urban adaptation strategies and contribute to the safety, resilience, sustainability, and functionality of the material and non-material values of the urban environment