Urban Climate Change Resilience Research Articles

Urban trawling bats depend on green and blue space in a subtropical city: implications for urban planning and climate change resilience

Urban trawling bats depend on green and blue space in a subtropical city: implications for urban planning and climate change resilience

Monitoring the climatic effects of street tree plantation in different urban patterns by synthetic image based BPNN simulations

One of the most effective, economical, environmentally friendly, and easily applied methods used to combat the overheating of urban areas is properly arranging the urban landscape. In particular, road networks play an important role in the heating of urban areas and occupy the most area among the different types of public spaces. Hence, it is evident that street landscape design methods represent a significant resource for enhancing urban climate change resilience. In this study, the effect of plantation of streets with trees on the local climate was investigated for Istanbul and Antalya in Turkey. In the comparison of these two cities, four pattern types (discrete low-rise, discrete mid-rise, discrete high-rise, compact low/mid-rise) that are common in both were used. The simulations were performed by BPNN method that used the synthetic images obtained by manipulating the original satellite images. By this way, as a result of the simulations, the synthetic surface temperature images of planted streets were obtained. The climatic changes were examined by applying thermal change detection analysis and cooling distance analysis for the streets that were planted with trees. According to these results, street tree plantation leads to a cooling effect that extends up to 50 m in Istanbul and up to 300 m in Antalya varying according to the urban pattern type. When the results were compared between the discrete pattern types, it was found that the cooling effect due to street tree planting in the low-rise was effective up to longer distances than the high-rise pattern types.

From knowledge to action: multi-stakeholder planning for urban climate change adaptation and resilience in the Asia–Pacific

From knowledge to action: multi-stakeholder planning for urban climate change adaptation and resilience in the Asia–Pacific

Pocket parks for human-centered urban climate change resilience: Microclimate field tests and multi-domain comfort analysis through portable sensing techniques and citizens’ science

Dense urban areas are subject to dynamic and urgent challenges, exacerbated by anthropogenic forcing. Urban Heat Island and heatwaves pose a threat to citizens’ comfort, due to extreme microclimate conditions. In this panorama, urban parks represent effective strategies towards more livable and comfortable urban areas. In particular, small pocket parks could aid in the mitigation of such challenges in every neighborhood. Indeed, they are in close proximity to citizens, allowing large population groups to benefit from the advantage of living green areas. Therefore, this paper assesses for the first time microclimate conditions and personal multi-domain perception imputable to pocket parks, by means of human-centered experimental analyses, coupling objective and subjective assessment. Wearable monitoring-systems are employed for the assessment of granular-microclimate variables mapping, and questionnaire-surveys are collected in the pocket parks and their surroundings, for comparison purposes. Results show that, while microclimate mitigation is not extremely significant as expected (−0.5 °C air temperature, +5–10% relative humidity inside the park), perceived comfort in pocket parks is higher than on the streets, shifting from “neutral” on the close by streets to “good/very good” in the park. Therefore, a better design for microclimate mitigation of pocket parks is needed, especially taking into account the potential air stagnation, while acknowledging their fundamental societal role.

Implementation of a Place Game tool in the city of Rotterdam to enhance urban resilience to climate change through placemaking

ABSTRACT This paper aims at establishing a connection between placemaking and urban climate change resilience. The Place Diagram was used as a framework for evaluating the quality of public space in the city of Rotterdam. In addition to the conventional approach, we added a new dimension to this Diagram to incorporate the climate adaptive capacity of a place. Based on the city’s climate adaptation strategy and climate-resilience action plans we identified the most vulnerable to climate change impacts district. The urban planning characteristics and the local climate stressors of this district were analyzed, enabling us to design and implement a Place Game – i.e. a tool for participatory design processes aiming at evaluating urban interventions at the local scale. A long-term vision for the study area (Gouvernestraat street) was finally developed, which enhances urban resilience to climate change by integrating ecosystem and community-based adaptation measures in local development planning and policymaking.

Supporting climate proof planning with CLARITY's climate service and modelling of climate adaptation strategies – the Linz use-case

In recent years, the representation of climate information in a way to support decision making has been gaining momentum. Worldwide, these so-called climate services are emerging as an essential tool to connect the advances in climate science with the domains of climate change adaptation. The methodology developed within the CLARITY project (funded through European Union funding program Horizon 2020) is aimed at implementing a new generation of climate services specifically designed to assess adaptation measures at the city level under the effects of extreme weather events in the context of climate change. These effects are assessed based on observations as well as climate projections, and the subsequent derivation of climate indices to address changes in climate extremes. The dynamical-statistical downscaling of regional climate model results is used to obtain this information on fine spatial scales (100 m), hence providing urban scale projections and enabling climate sensitivity simulations of adaptation measures on the urban scale. The climate adaptation strategies encompass, among others, green roofs, increasing roof albedo, as well as changes in soil sealing. Here, the climate assessment methodology developed within CLARITY will be discussed in detail, and results for the city of Linz (Austria) presented. In addition, the usage of these methods and results within the CLARITY climate service as well as the connection to urban climate change resilience will be highlighted.

Indicators for Monitoring Urban Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation

In the face of accelerating climate change, urbanization and the need to adapt to these changes, the concept of resilience as an interdisciplinary and positive approach has gained increasing attention over the last decade. However, measuring resilience and monitoring adaptation efforts have received only limited attention from science and practice so far. Thus, this paper aims to provide an indicator set to measure urban climate resilience and monitor adaptation activities. In order to develop this indicator set, a four-step mixed method approach was implemented: (1) based on a literature review, relevant resilience indicators were selected, (2) researchers, consultants and city representatives were then invited to evaluate those indicators in an online survey before the remaining indicator candidates were validated in a workshop (3) and finally reviewed by sector experts (4). This thorough process resulted in 24 indicators distributed over 24 action fields based on secondary data. The participatory approach allowed the research team to take into account the complexity and interdisciplinarity nature of the topic, as well as place- and context-specific parameters. However, it also showed that in order to conduct a holistic assessment of urban climate resilience, a purely quantitative, indicator-based approach is not sufficient, and additional qualitative information is needed.

Pathways for building urban resilience to climate change in Oman

ABSTRACT The Sultanate of Oman is highly vulnerable to climate change. Recent experiences with Cyclone Gonu in 2007, Phet in 2010 and Mekunu 2018, show the potential impact of extreme climatic events on urban areas, with a high loss of life, destruction of infrastructure and economic damage. Despite Oman facing multiple hazards and risks from climate change, no policies or strategies have been specifically designed to build climate resilience for urban cities. This study aims to raise awareness among policymakers to develop a national policy framework towards addressing urban climate change adaptation and resilience. It suggests several pathways for the country based on a review of previous studies and interviews with key stakeholders. Identified pathways include generation of knowledge on climate change, capacity building, improved governance, and planning.

Learning pathways and the governance of innovations in urban climate change resilience and adaptation

ABSTRACTThe proliferation of transnational municipal networks (TMNs) has led to different innovative models of urban climate change governance. To date, there have been few reflexive inquiries into how urban governance actors and processes are learning to innovate as a result of participating in TMNs. In response, this paper draws on theories of institutional learning and urban governance to offer a conceptual distinction between innovations in governance and the governance of innovations in the context of climate resilience and adaptation. We apply these concepts to evaluate the case studies of Rotterdam and Berkeley, where we highlight the actors, networks, and resources required to motivate and sustain actions against concurrent sectoral interests. Experiences from the two cities show that learning pathways are constructed and reified through processes of communication and negotiation, which can result in the grounding of TMN resources. A focus on unpacking the variations in learning and implementation within cities across diverse political economic contexts can offer insights into the opportunities for enabling more meaningful and sustained forms of innovation.

Will Budapest be a climate-resilient city? - Adaptation and mitigation challenges and opportunities in development plans of Budapest

Cities are responsible for more than two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, moreover, they consume the majority of resources and account for a great proportion of globally generated waste. Due to the concentration of the population, of economic activities, of consumption and emissions, cities play a crucial role in the abatement of the negative effects of climate change. Consequently, adaptation and mitigation actions in urban areas are greatly important regarding the decrease of urban vulnerability and fostering urban climate change resilience. Since approximately 20% of the Hungarian population lives in Budapest, moreover 40% of the Hungarian GDP is generated here, the capital city is the hub of consumption; or, in other words, it is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. There is growing interest in resilience-based studies not only at the international scale, but also in Hungary. Nevertheless, there are only a few Hungarian studies with respect to urban adaptation and mitigation strategies, and moreover, to related issues such as reduction of climate exposure or urban vulnerability. The aim of this research paper is to analyse adaptation and mitigation actions in different development and management plans of Budapest, and to identify the main challenges and opportunities considering adaptation to climate change in order to Budapest will be able to become a climate-resilient city. Keywords: climate change, Budapest, mitigation, adaptation

Institutionalising mechanisms for building urban climate resilience: experiences from India

This paper examines how mainstreaming of urban climate change resilience – a crucial consideration in an increasingly urbanised world – is occurring at both the city and national scale, using the case of an internationally-funded resilience-building initiative in India. Surat city's newly-established Climate Change Trust illustrates the importance of an institutionalised mechanism for coordinating and sustaining climate initiatives. Concurrently, climate resilience is being mainstreamed into the national urban development agenda, through a network of Indian institutions. These two nascent mechanisms offer avenues for local city-level experiences to inform national directives, driving and sustaining the urban climate adaptation agenda across India.

Initiating and sustaining action: Experiences building resilience to climate change in Asian cities

Across Asia, and more widely, significant investment is being made by donor organisations to catalyse awareness about climate change impacts in dynamic urban environments. This investment has initiated processes that enable cities to adapt and become more resilient, thereby reducing risk to rapidly growing urban populations – notably those that are most vulnerable or marginalised. The key question is to what extent such donor funded programs are able to create the foundations for sustained action that ultimately results in the integration of urban climate change resilience (UCCR) in future policy, development plans and everyday decision making. At present there is limited evidence to inform either what those foundations might look like, or the pathways to putting them in place.This paper draws on the experiences of 10 Asian cities participating in the Rockefeller Foundation funded Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) identifying key areas for action – stakeholder engagement, generating credible knowledge and integration in policy and planning at a local, regional and national level – whilst recognising the importance of influencing city budgets and attracting private sector funding.

Policy climates and climate policies: Analysing the politics of building urban climate change resilience

This paper examines the process of building resilience to climate change in urban areas by scrutinising the manner in which initiatives to build resilience interact with the urban policy environments in which they unfold. The urban policy environment is broken into three analytical areas of actors, spaces and discourses. This illustrates the influence of actor networks, epistemic communities and policy entrepreneurs in helping climate change resilience gain traction in urban settings, how discourses attached to urban resilience are dissonant with those prevailing in ossified urban policy environments, and the dynamic interaction of interest, agendas and power in decision making that accompanies resilience building processes. The paper applies this framework to case studies of two Indian cities within a major international urban climate change resilience initiative. Using data gathered through a variety of rigorous qualitative research methods, the paper provides insights into the politics of policy processes around urban climate change initiatives. Findings from this study can inform urban development policies and allow resilience project planners to calibrate their efforts to better suit urban policy environments. The paper highlights how issues of politics and power are more significant determinants of such policy processes than conventional, science-led analyses would suggest.

From practice to theory: emerging lessons from Asia for building urban climate change resilience

This paper aims to capture and analyze emerging experiences, lessons and tensions evident from several years of work underway through the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, a network of secondary cities in South and Southeast Asia that have engaged in a process to analyze vulnerabilities and plan and implement measures to address them. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation and numerous partners, these cities have identified more than 59 specific resilience-building measures, of which 23 are being implemented. Through this work we see 10 critical urban climate change resilience action areas that cities must consider in order to strengthen their ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to the types of sudden and slow onset impacts. These are: climate sensitive land use and urban planning; institutional coordination mechanisms and capacity support; drainage, flood and solid waste management; water demand and conservation systems; emergency management and early warning systems; responsive health systems; resilient housing and transport systems; strengthening of ecosystem services; diversification and protection of climate-affected livelihoods; and education and capacity building of citizens. We present case studies of how these measures are implemented in specific cities and highlight the tensions and challenges that have emerged. Primary tensions arise around the powerful political economy forces that influence decisions in cities; ensuring that the risks and benefits of resilience-building measures are distributed equitably; aligning incentives of various stakeholders in cities; and developing the mandates, coordination and capacities needed to manage a multi-scale and multi-sector issue as complex as urban climate change resilience. This empirical base of practice provides important learning to help guide further the refinement of both theory and practice in the nascent field of urban climate change resilience.