Urban Climate Change Research Articles

Urban sprawl and transformations in the urban fabric: contemporary challenges for Brazilian cities

This article argues that the contemporary transformations of the urban fabric in Brazilian cities are characterized by urban sprawl, a process distinguished from earlier ones due to its association with new cultural values and new challenges for urban planning. Accordingly, the aim is to research the extent to which urban sprawl impacts the planning of Brazilian cities, with a focus on understanding the relationshipbetween urban sprawl and climate change. Initially, the article questions key foreign concepts related to urban sprawl, demonstrating the contemporaneity of this process. Through an exploratory methodology, it characterizes urban sprawl through Brazilian interpretations and territorial evidence. The discussion centerson five conditioning factors stemming from sprawl and their relationship to climate events. In conclusion, the article advocates for multifunctional and multiscale premises that address local development by recognizing the systemic nature of this process.

Urban sprawl and transformations in the urban fabric: contemporary challenges for Brazilian cities

This article argues that the contemporary transformations of the urban fabric in Brazilian cities are characterized by urban sprawl, a process distinguished from earlier ones due to its association with new cultural values and new challenges for urban planning. Accordingly, the aim is to research the extent to which urban sprawl impacts the planning of Brazilian cities, with a focus on understanding the relationshipbetween urban sprawl and climate change. Initially, the article questions key foreign concepts related to urban sprawl, demonstrating the contemporaneity of this process. Through an exploratory methodology, it characterizes urban sprawl through Brazilian interpretations and territorial evidence. The discussion centerson five conditioning factors stemming from sprawl and their relationship to climate events. In conclusion, the article advocates for multifunctional and multiscale premises that address local development by recognizing the systemic nature of this process.

Spatiotemporal Variation and Driving Analysis of Net Primary Productivity of Vegetation in Southern Part of Taihang Mountain, China

The net primary productivity of vegetation (NPP) is an important index to evaluate the carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation and land use change. Using MOD17N3HGF NPP data, climate data and night-time light data from 2000 to 2020, this study explored the relationship between NPP and urban expansion, land use and climate change in the Southern Part of Taihang Mountain through brightness gradient method, trend analysis, partial correlation analysis and contribution analysis. It aims to provide information support for urban and rural planning and ecological management in this region. Key findings include: Over the past 20 years, NPP in mountain areas has shown an overall fluctuating upward trend, with an "N" pattern related to altitude. The human activity area expanded by 9.9%, with expansion of highly active areas holding back NPP growth and moderately active areas contributing to it. The trend of climate change is gradually warming and wetting, and the correlation between precipitation and NPP is strong, while the correlation between temperature and NPP is weak. Compared with human activities (19.9%), precipitation was the main driver of NPP change, contributing significantly up to 79.5%. In the past 20 years, the ecological quality of the south Taihang Mountain region has improved significantly and actively responded to climate change, but human activities have led to spatial and temporal ecological differences.

Timber Biogenic Carbon Stock in the Urban Environment: Santiago City as a Second Forest

Urban environments significantly contribute to carbon emissions, both through operational processes and the embodied emissions of construction materials, thus exacerbating climate change. Nevertheless, urban timber structures offer a viable alternative by acting as carbon sinks, capable of sequestering carbon for decades or even centuries. This study develops and applies a methodology to quantify the biogenic carbon stored in Santiago City’s timber-based buildings, conceptualized as a “Second Forest” that transfers and preserves the carbon capture capacity of trees in the built environment. The analysis estimates that Santiago’s urban timber constructions have expanded their wood-built surface area by 192,831 m2 over the past eight years, reflecting the growing adoption of timber in urban construction. During the same period, biogenic carbon storage increased from 199.78 kt to 202.73 kt, equivalent to 10.84 kt of CO2 under average conditions. These findings highlight the potential of urban planning strategies, such as promoting taller timber buildings and adopting circular timber practices, to enhance carbon sequestration and reduce reliance on carbon-intensive materials. This research highlights the fundamental role that timber buildings play in urban climate change mitigation, positioning them as active contributors to global carbon management efforts.

The Correlation Between Water Sensitive Urban Design and Urban Climate: a Bibliometric Analysis

The rapid population growth in the past two centuries has caused a significant rise in urbanisation, leading to various environmental impacts. To address these negative consequences, the adoption of new technologies is crucial. One such approach is Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), which shows potential in mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect, climate change, and extreme heat, as well as reducing stormwater pollution. Therefore, this research comprehensively examines the correlation between the WSUD and the urban climate by conducting a bibliometric analysis. This study expanded all research from 2014 to 2023 by utilising the similar visualisation software (Vosviewer). A total of 38 publications were analysed as documented in the Scopus database in January 2024, identifying the most compelling subjects covered by the journal. The results indicate a substantial dearth of literature regarding the relationship between water-sensitive urban design (WSUD), low-impact development (LID), sustainable urban drainage (SUD), thermal comfort, cooling, urban heat island (UHI), and urban climate. This highlights the emergence of a potential research topic. The study offers a roadmap for future researchers, focussing on key areas where fruitful investigation is feasible.

Impact of urban biodiversity and climate change on children's health and well being.

In recent decades, biodiversity loss has greatly impacted planetary and human health. Children are at additional risk of adverse effects due to unique biological, developmental, and behavioral factors, as well as their longer exposure to an altered planet as a function of their young age. These effects are heightened for children living in vulnerable socioeconomic conditions. Here, we review the role of biodiversity loss on accelerating the consequences of climate change from the perspective of pediatric health. With the loss of biodiversity's protective role against the consequences of climate change, the adverse effects of the changing planet are impacting pediatric health. For example, trees provide shelter against heat waves, unsealed soil and wetlands mitigate flooding, and rewilded green space hosts high microbial richness and consequently supports immune and mental health. The effects of the loss of biodiversity may impact the discovery and development of novel pharmaceuticals and thus the future of children's medicine as a whole. We also highlight areas for further study and detail efforts that have been made to restore biodiversity, with the aim to improve the current and future health of local pediatric populations. IMPACT: Loss of biodiversity is occurring at a rapid pace affecting the health of the planet and disproportionately pediatric health. This paper describes the role of biodiversity loss in accelerating the impact of climate change on children's health, and highlights particularly vulnerable populations. This paper details steps that can be taken to maintain and restore biodiversity at the local and global levels to protect these populations and pediatric health in general.

Thin-Film Technologies for Sustainable Building-Integrated Photovoltaics

This study investigates the incorporation of thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) technologies in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and their contribution to sustainable architecture. The research focuses on three key TFPV materials: amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), examining their composition, efficiency, and BIPV applications. Recent advancements have yielded impressive results, with CdTe and CIGS achieving laboratory efficiencies of 22.10% and 23.35%, respectively. The study also explores the implementation of building energy management systems (BEMS) for optimizing energy use in BIPV-equipped buildings. Financial analysis indicates that despite 10.00–30.00% higher initial costs compared to conventional materials, BIPV systems can generate 50–150 kWh/m2 annually, with simple payback periods of 5–15 years. The research emphasizes the role of government incentives and innovative financing in promoting BIPV adoption. As BIPV technology progresses, it offers a promising solution for transforming buildings from energy consumers to producers, significantly contributing to sustainable urban development and climate change mitigation.

Development of a Deep Learning-Based Flooding Region Segmentation Model for Recognizing Urban Flooding Situations

Urban flooding has become increasingly frequent due to the rising intensity of rainfall driven by urban development and climate change. Effective prevention measures are crucial to mitigate the significant human and material damages caused by such events. Rapid and accurate pre-detection techniques can help to reduce the impacts of urban flooding. With the advancement of deep learning, deep neural networks (DNNs) have been successfully applied across various domains, including computer vision and speech recognition. In particular, DNNs for computer vision demonstrate high performance with relatively low computational costs. In this paper, we propose a flooding region segmentation model for urban underpasses based on the U-Net architecture. To train and evaluate the model, we collected datasets from the Mannyeon, Oryang, and Daedong underpasses in Daejeon. The proposed method achieved Dice coefficients of 98.8%, 94.03%, and 93.85%, respectively. This model demonstrates high segmentation performance in detecting flooded regions and can be integrated into continuous flood monitoring systems.

Integrating Triple Helix and Sustainable Transition Research for Transformational Governance

Abstract The critical literature review discusses the principles of Participation and Interconnectedness underlying the Triple Helix Model and Learning and Adaptation in the Sustainable Transition Model for their relevance in governing urban climate change adaptation. In this new framing, a secondary literature analysis of Barcelona’s struggle against air pollution is exemplified as a wicked problem caused by diverse stakeholder interests and their different sustainability concepts in socio-economic and environmental development. The paper offers a new perspective on sustainable, transformative pathways in cities which run on participative and adaptive governance principles. The backwards integration into the underlying principles of the meta-theories illustrates the value of triple helix and transition research and the benefit of their integration for examining and designing sustainable transition pathways.

Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Metaverse for Sustainable Smart Cities: Technologies, Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions

Rapid urbanisation has intensified the need for sustainable solutions to address challenges in urban infrastructure, climate change, and resource constraints. This study reveals that Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled metaverse offers transformative potential for developing sustainable smart cities. AI techniques, such as machine learning, deep learning, generative AI (GAI), and large language models (LLMs), enhance the metaverse’s capabilities in data analysis, urban decision making, and personalised user experiences. The study further examines how these advanced AI models facilitate key metaverse technologies such as big data analytics, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, digital twins, Internet of Things (IoT), Edge AI, and 5G/6G networks. Applications across various smart city domains—environment, mobility, energy, health, governance, and economy, and real-world use cases of virtual cities like Singapore, Seoul, and Lisbon are presented, demonstrating AI’s effectiveness in the metaverse for smart cities. However, AI-enabled metaverse in smart cities presents challenges related to data acquisition and management, privacy, security, interoperability, scalability, and ethical considerations. These challenges’ societal and technological implications are discussed, highlighting the need for robust data governance frameworks and AI ethics guidelines. Future directions emphasise advancing AI model architectures and algorithms, enhancing privacy and security measures, promoting ethical AI practices, addressing performance measures, and fostering stakeholder collaboration. By addressing these challenges, the full potential of AI-enabled metaverse can be harnessed to enhance sustainability, adaptability, and livability in smart cities.

A hybrid ecological evaluation of the fisheries in changing climate: case study from a peri-urban tropical wetland of Kolkata, Eastern India.

The degradation of peri-urban wetlands has been a significant consequence of urban development and climate change. The present study discovered the decadal changes in land cover and climate impact on Raja Wetland, revealing significant alterations from 2011 to 2021. The analysis indicates substantial reductions in agricultural land (36.36%), fallow land (30.90%), water spread areas (10.14%) and surrounding wetlands (18.06%). Conversely, settlements, terrestrial vegetation and aquatic macrophytes increased by 19.77%, 3.39% and 1.16%, respectively. The primary driver of wetland shrinkage was urban expansion leading to a decrease in wetland area from 43.39ha in 2011 to 38.99ha in 2021. Climate data from 1991 to 2020 show a decreasing trend in annual rainfall (τ = - 0.274, p = 0.035) and an increasing trend in annual temperature (τ = 0.339, p = 0.009), with significant warming particularly during the monsoon months. The wetland's physicochemical attributes fluctuate seasonally, with eutrophic conditions prevailing (TSI range: 61.41-80.36). Notably, fish diversity is impacted by the dominance of the invasive species Oreochromis niloticus, which constitutes 89.31% of the catch. The established planktonic indicator genera of organic pollution were found to be abundant throughout the study period. These, combined with urban pollution and eutrophication, have led to a reduction in native fish species and overall aquatic health. The study highlights the urgent need for conservation measures to address the ecological imbalance and restore wetland resilience amidst ongoing climate and anthropogenic pressures. The communication also proposes various recommendations for the recovery and sustainable future use of wetland fisheries in the context of ongoing changes.

Evaluating the effectiveness of environmental sustainability indicators in optimizing green-grey infrastructure for sustainable stormwater management.

Green-grey infrastructure is recommended as an innovative stormwater management strategy in response to urban flooding and climate change. Currently, the indicators used to optimize sustainable green-grey infrastructure and evaluate its stormwater management performance have been limited and based on self-defined criteria. In this study, we developed a comprehensive environmental sustainability indicator that integrates reliability, resilience, vulnerability, and hydrological sustainability as one of the objectives for optimizing green-grey infrastructure layout. The new indicator fully considered both system-level and component-level failures. Graph-theoretic algorithm coupled with NSGA-Ⅱ was applied to support the layout design and optimization. Additionally, the hydro-hydraulic performance of representative optimized layouts under extreme storms and climate change scenarios was re-evaluated to compare the effectiveness of various self-defined environmental sustainability indicators. The results demonstrated that under the same budget conditions, layouts optimized using the environmental sustainability indicator proposed in this study demonstrated superior performance, primarily reflected in less flood severity, flood duration, and conduit surcharge. Furthermore, it was effective and necessary to comprehensively consider the system-level overload consequences, the component-level failure-recovery process, and the extent of restoration to the natural hydrological state in the green-grey optimization process. This framework aims to address the stormwater management challenges posed by short-term extreme storms and long-term climate changes, while balancing sustainable economic and natural hydrological states.

A sustainable environment requires sustainable water—a review of some water issues to learn from

Water sustainability has become one of the most severe issues in the 21st century due to urban population growth and climate change. This paper reviews some of the critical key water issues that need to be considered in the quest for water sustainability for the upcoming decades. The purpose is to recognize the critical circumstances for maintaining water sustainability and send warning signals for regions that have passed the “tipping point” of balancing their water sustainability, while failing to realize restoring sustainability will be extremely difficult. Examples are used to demonstrate situations which, in hindsight, have been initially shown to be effective but highly problematic in the long term. This review considers, amongst others, the example of 1960s India, which shows that an agricultural “success” that started in the 1960s has subsequently become an environmental disaster. Additional issues, including the impacts of dietary adjustments, upstream diversions raising downstream shortfalls, and water transfers from agriculture to urban areas, are used as examples. They demonstrate that lessons must be learned from the past to achieve water sustainability, and adaptive measures must be adopted to help humanity avoid irreversible environmental tragedies. This paper highlights the urgent need for policymakers and stakeholders to proactively promote better water resource management strategies, domestic/international collaborations, and strict water use practice regulations, all of which will contribute to water sustainability and management plans.

Three-dimensional City Modeling for Microclimate Simulation of Urban Areas

Abstract Increasing urbanization and building density can trigger an increase in environmental temperature, thereby influencing urban climate change. Urban management that responds to climate change is urgently needed, requiring a smarter urban design approach than before. As geospatial science and technology develop, conventional two-dimensional methods will transition to more complex three-dimensional spatial modeling. This approach has great potential in supporting climate change-responsive decision making in urban environments. Three-dimensional city modeling at the LOD 2.0 level was used for the microclimate simulation. The research was conducted in the Central Business District (CBD) of Mayjend Sungkono, Surabaya, which has special urban characteristics related to the urban climate, such as variations in the use of building functions, such as residential, village, commercial, apartment, or hotel, as well as unique types of roofs in the area. The parameters used for the simulation included air temperature (°C), relative humidity (%), wind speed (m/s), and wind direction. Three-dimensional city modeling was performed using a semi-automatic method based on LiDAR data and aerial photos. The simulation was carried out by integrating three-dimensional city modeling with the visualization of microweather parameters in Envi-Met, along with pattern indicators from building facades. In addition, a vegetation scenario was created to reduce the temperature. The second factor is a comparison between the existing conditions and the scenarios that have been created.

The Role of Urban Green Spaces in Mitigating Urban Heat Island Effect Amidst Climate Change

As climate change accelerates, urban heat islands (UHIs) are becoming an increasing threat to public health and well-being in cities globally. UHIs occur when urban built environments absorb and retain more heat than surrounding rural areas due to the prevalence of heat-retaining materials like concrete and asphalt and waste heat from vehicles, buildings and industry. This results in significantly higher temperatures in cities compared to nearby rural regions. Urban green spaces such as parks, gardens, urban forests, green roofs and community farms can help mitigate the UHI effect through shading, evapotranspiration and converting impervious surfaces to permeable vegetation. This study reviews the literature on the ability of various urban green spaces to reduce ambient temperatures, to improve thermal comfort and to provide refuge to urban residents during extreme heat events, which are projected to increase with climate change. An analysis of research case studies quantifies the potential temperature reduction capacity of urban vegetation and identifies key principles and guidelines for designing climate-adaptive urban green spaces to regulate urban microclimates amidst global climate change effectively.

The Quality Urban Label and the 4Q City Model: Levers for Urban Adaptation and Climate Change Mitigation in Mediterranean Cities

Simple indicators are often used to summarize the complexity of systems or products, commonly through color-coded labels paired with letters. These labels, like those indicating energy efficiency or nutritional ratings, help users quickly understand essential characteristics. Building on this approach, the Quality Urban Label (QUL) has been developed to assess public space adaptation to urban climate change. The QUL utilizes four key indicators, called quality components: air quality (pollutants), noise pollution, thermal comfort, and visual comfort. It ranges from 0 to 25 and is represented by a color and letter code (green, A, ranging from 0 to 2; blue, B, ranging from 6 to 11; orange, C, ranging from 15 to 19; and red, D, ranging from 22 to 25), with green representing better quality and red poorer quality. The QUL aims to evaluate public spaces based on energy consumption reduction, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and progress toward carbon neutrality. This article explores some ecological and climate benefits of the QUL, especially in warm Mediterranean cities. An objective label that quantifies the alignment of urban public space with climate neutrality has numerous advantages, which are discussed in the article. In addition, it is a key tool for urban project planning, focused on reducing urban social inequalities and promoting a just energy transition of urban public space.

How to account for spatial trade-offs in planning for urban climate adaptation? Optimizing green and grey infrastructures

Urban Nature-Based Solutions have emerged as sound strategies for urban climate change adaptation, but they lack effective decision-support tools. This paper proposes a decision-support framework that relies on Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO), the consideration of actual space availability, the consideration of the simultaneous objectives of climate change adaptation and water management, the integration of demand for co-benefits, and the participatory exploration of trade-offs for decision-makers. The MOO is applied to the case study of the French city of Bordeaux, to identify the optimal location of Groundwater Recharge Infrastructures (GRI) that include Nature-Based Solutions. It provides decision-makers with spatially explicit solutions for developing GRI, with the objectives of maximizing groundwater recharge, maximizing urban cooling, while minimizing opportunity costs, in the context of urban climate change adaptation. Results indicate an array of solutions between two polar strategies: large scale specialized grey solutions in most effective recharge areas, or diffused Nature-Based Solutions to satisfy citizen demand for multiple benefits. The participatory trade-off analysis proposed in this paper is a novel way to co-design spatial climate change adaptation strategies in urban contexts.

Urban recreation areas and climate change resilience: Hunter's Point South Park, New York City

Urban areas experiencing the escalating impacts of climate change-induced disasters face challenges exacerbated by rapid urbanization and inadequate infrastructure. Despite more than four decades of warnings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the actual outcomes of climate change remain more severe than anticipated, affecting millions of people annually. This study focused on resilience as a response to the detrimental effects of climate change, emphasizing its importance in urban design to address climate-related disasters. Specifically, the research centers on Hunter's Point South Park in Long Island City, New York, examining its design resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This study aimed to develop an updated resilience toolkit for the designated area using assessment tools from organizations such as the Resilience Alliance, the Rockefeller Foundation, A RUP, and UN-Habitat. The toolkit includes a comprehensive questionnaire derived from crucial elements of existing assessment tools, fostering a systems-thinking approach to resilience in urban studies. Stakeholder involvement is crucial, as this study advocates incorporating community input, local authorities, and the natural environment in project development. The objective is to achieve long-term sustainability, efficiency, and resilience by choosing durable materials, low maintenance greenery, and engaging stakeholders. Also, given the high urban population, health is essential for climate-resilient urban development, as mentioned throughout the study. Prioritizing health in urban resilience planning reduces adverse impacts and fosters adaptable communities. While encouraging further field studies and research, this study underscores the necessity of ongoing efforts to enhance climate change resilience and guide sustainable development decisions.

How to monitor local objectives for urban climate change adaptation? Insights from quantitative content analysis of selected participatory budgets in the upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis

Subsequent analyses of participatory budgeting in Poland emphasise the popularity of environmental issues such as greenery, air quality, and sustainable transport, which should also support objectives in urban climate change adaptation (UCCA). An increasing number of adaptation projects within local standards or ‘green’ civic budgets are often listed among the indicators in urban adaptation plans for Polish cities. However, available research studies and urban evaluation reports show that monitoring participatory budgets poses a methodological challenge. Therefore, the aim of the article is twofold. First, it proposes a method of identifying overlaps of urban climate change adaptation objectives with descriptions of projects submitted to local participatory budgets of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis. For this purpose, a dictionary-based text analysis of project descriptions was performed and critically examined. The second aim was to identify trends in urban climate change adaptation objectives. Thus, the quantitative distribution of coded descriptions was evaluated to investigate how subsequent types of participatory budgets (editions, green vs. standard, implemented vs. non-implemented) differed. The results demonstrate that the available database of participatory budget projects is a rich source of information on local preferences towards issues related to UCCA. To strengthen the objectives of urban climate change adaptation, city administrations can consider additional tools, such as UCCA-related tips/inspiration and targeted calls for projects, as well as supplementing participatory budgets with other deliberative methods. However, collecting precise and calculable data on this topic based on participatory budget databases requires both methodological adjustments and careful validation.

Experiences of Losing and Re‐Establishing a ‘Sense of Place’: Insights From Forced Resettlement in Myanmar

ABSTRACTForced resettlement, the process of intentionally displacing and moving people from one location to another, increases impoverishment risks and creates severe and long‐lasting economic and psycho‐socio‐cultural impacts. While these impacts are well established, there is comparatively much less research about ‘loss of place’ after displacement when people are disconnected from a space or spaces that are meaningful to them. Therefore, this paper seeks to address this gap through empirical research on the experiences of residents who were displaced and relocated to an outer township in Yangon, Myanmar, 25 years after the resettlement event. The study examines what it means to lose a sense of place after forced resettlement, and how despite the disorientating impacts of displacement, individuals actively worked to re‐establish social and physical connections over time. The paper outlines how displaced residents developed and implemented strategies to re‐establish their sense of place and rebuild their community. It finds that multiple levels of strategies were developed—at individual, household, and community scales—to restore social connections and adapt to a new environment. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of place attachment and community rebuilding, particularly in contexts where displacement is driven by urban development, climate change, or state interventions.