Urban climate science, planning, policy and investment challenges

Abstract

The majority of the world’s population is now living in urban areas, which together represent <1% of the Earth’s surface. As populations and their assets continue to accumulate in urban areas, as their role in shaping local, regional and global economic and environmental processes continues to increase, and as climate change and other challenges continue to place people, infrastructures, institutions and ecosystems at risk, more attention needs to be given to the diverse processes that determine quality of life in urban areas.Climate conditions play a particular role in this context not just because climate change poses new challenges for urban areas but also because urban areas can play a lead role in humanity’s quest for a relationship with the natural environment that allows societies to prosper and flourish for a long time to come. Urban climate, as a topic of multidisciplinary research and focus for decision-making, subsumes many of these challenges. Urban Climate, as a new journal, provides a forum to share novel data, models, analyses results, and insights at the forefront of research and decision-making. Being able to assist in that knowledge sharing and knowledge generation will be, no doubt, a great opportunity for the scientific community, planners and decision makers alike.