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This paper uncovers the most important factors causing institutional inertia in the water management sector related to flood control in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States Gulf Coast region. The gradual modifications in water management systems, structures, and institutions are increasingly associated with the concept of institutional inertia, which serves as a valuable perspective for understanding resistance to change. New Orleans was chosen as a case study due to its history of catastrophic flooding events, vulnerability to climate change, extensive subsidence and reliance on hard infrastructure solutions to water management. Through a process tracing method, this paper illuminates the phenomenon of critical junctures in the period of study for New Orleans (1893-present) to understand their causes, results, and path-dependent legacies. The main findings are that some key contributing factors (i.e. costs, uncertainty, path dependence, power and legitimacy, and complexity) did promote institutional inertia in the New Orleans water management sector related to flood control. In addition, the paper sheds lights on the critical junctures that largely have failed to break the flood resistance paradigm that has dominated New Orleans water management since the system's inception. The application of institutional inertia and critical juncture lenses in New Orleans is novel, making it particularly relevant for water management institutions and flood control practices. • New Orleans illustrates how potential transformative periods have failed to engender paradigmatic and systemic shifts. • All five factors depicted as contributors to institutional inertia exert an influence with different levels of significance. • Some variables (i.e., path dependence) are more strongly related to institutional inertia than others (i.e., uncertainty). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is perceived as a major challenge of modern times. Apart from mitigation measures, such as greenhouse gas emission reductions, a further means to tackle it is via the deployment of adaptation policies and responses, which may also help to address the natural hazards associated with it. Despite the importance of adaptation measures, their effectiveness is often limited by a failure to integrate actions addressing both the causes and symptoms of vulnerability. There is evidence that adaptation processes are largely fragmented, incremental, with limited capacity for transformational change. This paper suggests measures through which transformative adaptation may be further deployed to tackle climate challenges in conjunction with efforts that address poverty alleviation. The implications of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, it offers a comprehensive review of the literature on transformative climate change adaptation, outlining its nature and special features. Secondly, it contains a unique set of cases from 20 countries, predominantly from the Global South, mostly affected by climate change, and is one of the largest studies on the topic ever undertaken. The experiences from this paper will support attempts to sustain transformative adaptation and natural hazards control, which are relevant to the many countries suffering from climatic variations. • Examines the concept of transformative adaptation and its adoption in facing climate change adaptation challenges. • Presents cases of climate change adaptation strategies from 20 countries. • Highlights the context-specific nature of climate change adaptation challenges. • Six countries adopted mainly incremental adaptation approach while 14 countries implemented transformative adaptation methods. • Highlights measures for improving the implementation of transformative adaptation to tackle challenges of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The convergence of technology and the city is commonly referred to as the ‘smart city’. It is seen as a possible remedy for the challenges that urbanisation creates in the age of global climate change, and as an enabler of a sustainable and liveable urban future. A review of the abundant but fragmented literature on smart city theories and practices, nevertheless, reveals that there is a limited effort to capture a comprehensive understanding on how the complex and multidimensional nature of the drivers of smart cities are linked to desired outcomes. The paper aims to develop a clearer understanding on this new city model by identifying and linking the key drivers to desired outcomes, and then intertwining them in a multidimensional framework. The methodological approach of this research includes a systematic review of the literature on smart cities, focusing on those aimed at conceptual development and provide empirical evidence base. The review identifies that the literature reveals three types of drivers of smart cities—community, technology, policy—which are linked to five desired outcomes—productivity, sustainability, accessibility, wellbeing, liveability, governance. These drivers and outcomes altogether assemble a smart city framework, where each of them represents a distinctive dimension of the smart cities notion. This paper helps in expanding our understanding beyond a monocentric technology focus of the current common smart city practice. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Determines the current state of conceptual understanding of smart cities • Highlights the key smart city drivers and desired outcomes • Generates insights into expanding our understanding on smart cities • Develops a comprehensive multidimensional smart city framework • Intertwines smart city drivers with desired outcomes in a multidimensional framework [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is central for climate policy to understand, monitor and forecast greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, generating insights on the key factors and actions with a greater impact to mitigate and adapt to global warming. Focusing on the leading role of cities, it is relevant to build robust and reliable GHG emissions prospects for every city committing to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In this paper, a novel methodology is proposed to build those prospects, presenting a case study with 6231 EU-27 cities and local municipalities taken from the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM). Key GHG emissions predictors for the target years of 2020 and 2030 refer to the baseline energy consumption and associated GHG emissions, as well as the population and the national emissions per capita trend. Additionally, other informative predictors are the baseline inventory year, the reduction target, the disaggregated baseline emissions by type of fuel (fossils or renewables), the heating and cooling degree days and the NUTS urban/rural categorization. The proposed methodology allows assessing the cities' achievements based on their expected performance, and it could be further implemented to support new cities willing to commit to a significant reduction of their GHG emissions. • A robust methodology is proposed to predict GHG emissions for cities committing to climate change mitigation and adaptation. • Key predictors refer to local, regional and national sources of information. • A case study is performed with 6231 European cities: 2030 commitments are expected to achieve a 40 % GHG emissions reduction. • The models described in this paper provide useful information to urban policy makers in the climate action planning process. • The results are replicable in the context of transnational initiatives involving cities in the fight against climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is transforming landscapes and land use practices. As the state territorializes climate risk via land use planning instruments, it transforms the operation of legal rights. In the Global North, this is generally understood as imposing constraints on private property rights. In the Global South, the literature focuses on the way planning instruments create or transform property rights. Using case studies from the Philippines, this paper demonstrates that, in property orders marked by high levels of informality, the land use planning process does not constrain state-given property rights, nor only create or attenuate rights. Instead, it can transform entire property orders, displacing long-term systems of informal land tenure derived from possessory interests and reifying state-sanctioned forms of title. This reordering of systems has significant consequences for the emergent, nominally climate-resilient landscape and the operation of state power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cities have been widely considered to be key sites of ambitious and transformative climate action, it is time to question whether they have adequate tools and mandates to reach their goals in time. In this paper we provide a comprehensive assessment of planned measures in major cities, assessing the distribution of persuasive (soft) versus direct regulatory (hard) and material measures using an urban systems perspective. Examining 1079 climate measures of 19 cities in the global C40 network we find that the majority of measures can be considered as soft measures , focused on raising awareness, incentivising businesses, engaging citizens, and developing new plans. Our cases suggest that cities in the Global South are more focused on hard and material measures and less prone to voluntarism than cities in the Global North. Generally, showing that strategies for sustainability transformations in cities are heavily reliant on voluntarism and persuasion, the article expresses concern for the ability of cities to meet its ambitious targets. The research literature on urban climate governance should expand from its current focus on collaborative, network-based and experimental governance, to reconsider the roles of regulation and control in meeting climate targets. • Provides a comprehensive assessment of planned climate measures in 19 major cities • Analyses 1079 climate measures and categorises into soft, hard and material modes • We find that the majority of measures (more than half) can be considered as soft. • We critically discuss the viability of ambitious climate targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risks of climate change are increasing, and their impacts seem inevitable on the livability of climate-vulnerable urban areas. In this regard, the present study aims to investigate the effects of climate change on the level of livability in Sistan and Baluchistan province, located in the southeast of Iran, which is facing severe climatic tensions. In this paper, daily climate data of temperature, humidity, wind, frost, and precipitation from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed temporally and spatially. From 2010 to 2019, the livability of this province's cities was also evaluated using the multi-criteria decision-making method. Geostatistical analysis methods were also applied to understand the relationship between climate and livability. The results showed that climatic drivers strongly influence the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan. The northern regions of the province had the highest number of drought, frost, and windy days compared to the southern ones. But, the average humidity and temperature of the central and southern regions were assessed higher than the northern ones. Therefore, the above climatic features exerted different effects on the livability process. The livability situation results indicated that the cities' livability level was different in the studied years. Many cities had a downward trend. Also, based on spatial statistics analysis, the distribution of livability at the province level was uneven and clustered. In addition, the evaluation of the effect of climatic drivers on the livability of cities illustrated that there is a strong correlation between the humidity driver and the trend of livability (with a correlation of 0.35). However, the drivers of temperature, wind, frost, and drought (with correlations of 0.06, 0.02, 0.01, and 0.02) individually did not have a significant relationship with the livability trend. However, a combination of temperature-humidity (with a correlation of 0.3) and drought-humidity (0.31) drives greatly impacted the livability of the province's cities. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different land cover futures will have contrasting implications for cities working to adapt to the changing climate. This paper explores this issue, reporting on the application of a scenario-based land use modelling case study focused on Greater Manchester in North West England. It highlights that the interplay between varied drivers of change has the potential to generate contrasting land cover futures for the city-region, which will in turn influence climate change adaptation prospects. The case study pays specific attention to green infrastructure cover, as this can enhance the capacity of urban areas to adapt to climate change by providing functions such as evaporative cooling and rainwater infiltration. The two scenarios analysed within this paper connect, broadly, to the contrasting processes of expansion and shrinkage that are shaping cities worldwide. Where cities are expanding, stimulated by economic growth and increase in population, the danger is that associated land use change will pressure existing green infrastructure resources with a detrimental impact on adaptive capacity. Cities that are shrinking, or experiencing relative decline in comparison to other cities, face a different set of issues. Here, the emergence of vacant land provides an opportunity to secure adaptive capacity benefits associated with green infrastructure. With the processes of expansion and shrinkage projected to continue to influence the global landscape of cities, this research highlights that strategies are needed to protect and enhance green infrastructure in both contexts in order to maintain and build adaptive capacity and moderate climate-related risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After being known as the ‘murder capital of the world’ in the 1990s, Medellin has pioneered innovative forms of city planning and management and was acclaimed the most innovative city in the world by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in 2013. Hosting the World Urban Forum in 2014 allowed it to showcase its approach, key elements of which have been: creation of innovative transport infrastructure linking poorer peripheral districts to the city centre; culture-led regeneration; strong support of local development from the local business sector; and a successful municipally-owned utilities company. However, the city is spreading outwards without services and employment being provided; new low-income developments are replicating high-rise models which failed worldwide; there is limited intervention in the existing informal areas, many being in highly vulnerable locations where the level of risk is likely to increase with climate change; development has little regard for topography, ecological and environmental considerations; investment in accessible and good quality public space is restricted to some areas; the quality of the public realm does not always support health and wellbeing of the ageing population. This paper explores the institutional and socio-economic context in which Medellín has achieved the internationally recognized status of an ‘innovative city’. It questions to what extent social equity, environmental sustainability and citizen empowerment have been promoted as per the ULI claims when it conferred the prize. The paper queries the extent to which ‘urban innovation’ is happening in Medellín, which has considerable implications given its recently found role as a ‘model’ city in Latin America and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of political uncertainty on sustainable urban development by examining carbon emission trading systems (ETS) in four major markets in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Hubei) from 2014 to 2022. As an alternative to carbon taxes, carbon ETS markets have become increasingly popular due to their success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, their effectiveness is often hindered by political instability and uncertainty. Utilising logistic regression and AR(1)-GARCH estimations, we identify a negative relationship between political uncertainty and carbon trading volume. Our study also reveals significant variations in the responses of these markets to political uncertainty. The paper contributes to the understanding of how ETS markets operate in a complex and constantly changing political environment. We suggest that policymakers need to consider the impact of political uncertainty on carbon trading when designing and implementing urban policies that promote sustainable development. Additionally, our research contributes to the development of urban policies that can be effectively implemented in both developed and developing regions. • Local government official turnovers are used as the measurement of political uncertainty. • Daily transaction data from four carbon ETS markets (Beijing, Shanghai, Hubei and Guangdong) in China • Considered the probability and proportion of zero transaction day • Logistic regression and AR(1)-GARCH estimations • A negative relationship between political uncertainty and carbon transaction volume [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current fabric of urban areas is largely the result of past land development and land-use planning decisions. Historically, there was relatively little consideration of the impact of these decisions upon hydrological systems within and outside urban areas. Despite their close relationship, urban and regional planning and water resources management have typically been carried out separately and guided by different institutional arrangements. The range of impacts of urbanisation on hydrological systems at the city-region scale, and the dependence of urbanised areas upon these systems, call for better integration between the sectors of urban and regional planning and water resources management to ensure the sustainability and resilience of cities and their regions to future changes and uncertainties. This paper evaluates the extent to which planning mechanisms currently support integration between land-use and water resource sectors. The evaluation draws on a comparative analysis of 113 statutory and non-statutory planning mechanisms in three Australian capital city-regions: South East Queensland, and the Melbourne and Perth Metropolitan regions. Results indicate that the function of water at the city-region scale, including its role in supporting environmental connectivity, needs to be better understood and considered by land-use planning systems; improved institutional capacity is required to enable both sectors to deal with future changes and uncertainties related to water resources; and emergent planning trends supportive of the consideration of water connectivity at the city-region scale are yet to be fully implemented. Based on the results, the paper concludes by exploring how the concept of urban metabolism may facilitate better integration between the two sectors, along with the identification of best suited planning mechanisms and needed changes in governance and institutional arrangements conducive to integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green infrastructure is a promising strategy aiming to address climate change impacts and associated flood risks, as well as bringing social equity benefits such as increased access to greenspace in urban areas. However, not only does it take up valuable development space, but the effectiveness of differing green infrastructure types in alleviating extreme rainfall impacts is unclear. This paper develops and tests scenarios linking various rainfall intensities (historical, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), types of green infrastructure (bio-retention cells, permeable pavement and rain gardens), and different spatial distributions (5 % and 10 % of the sub-catchment area) to investigate the extent to which green infrastructure can most effectively minimise flood risks while providing targeted equity benefits. Findings indicate that the implementation of 10 % of green infrastructure could reduce runoff peak rate and total runoff volume around 50–75 % at the sub-catchment scale. The paper provides two contributions. First, we develop and test a methodological approach that is able to link green infrastructure to climate and spatial futures. Second, we demonstrate which types of green infrastructure, and in which combinations, can most effectively reduce the impact of extreme weather events. Findings suggest that the strategic implementation of small green infrastructure areas can be hugely effective, particularly if multiple measures are combined. • GI implementation in small catchment areas can reduce flood risk • GI alternatives can play a significant role in addressing climate change impacts • GI alternatives perform differently in highly urbanised cities and small towns • Planned GI implementation can maximise social outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning remains an important tool in managing climate change impacts. It also remains crucial in building sustainable adaptive capacities, particularly in cities of the global north. It however remains largely unknown in urban Africa about planning agencies' perspectives on climate change adaptation-urban planning conundrum, and corresponding policy responses. This paper thus examines urban planners' perspectives and planning responses on managing climate change impacts and building adaptive capacities in Accra, Ghana. Using a review of four relevant urban planning and climate change policies, and interviews with five urban planning agencies in Accra, findings indicate that urban planning regimes are less efficient, more reactionary, and unsustainable in building resilience and adaptive capacities to climate change impacts. The findings show evidence of weak institutional and stakeholder coordination, inadequate funds and institutional logistics and human capacity, which have contributed to the inability to manage 'normal' climate change impacts such as floods and build resilience to them. The paper concludes with suggestions for building resilience to climate change impacts and incorporating adaptation concerns into urban planning efforts in Ghana. • Hydrological disasters have increased in frequency due to climate change and other human induced activities • Urban planning is an important tool in building sustainable adaptive capacities to climate change • Urban planning regimes are less efficient, reactionary and unsustainable in building climate resilience in Ghana • Weak institutional coordination have contributed to the city's inability to manage 'normal' climate change impacts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with increasing urbanization and uncertainties linked to climate change, the scientific community has integrated the concept of resilience into urban management practices. Once revolutionary, now a buzzword, resilience is a concept that is difficult to transform into an integrated tool that stakeholders accept and adopt. This paper offers a perspective on the different interpretations of resilience, its difficult implementation and the tools that seek to operationalize it. The underlying questions are how these tools are appropriated by urban managers and territorial decision-makers, and how the theoretical concept can be translated into resilient urban development. This research paper reviews the work on resilience and investigates its use and operationalization, comparing two different approaches – organizational (Canada) and holistic (France) – that aim to clarify and operationalize resilience. These theoretical approaches have been combined to create workshops for urban managers so they can move from theoretical results to practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the greater risk of flooding in cities due to climate change, spatial planning systems are increasingly expected to contribute to flood resilience. However, incorporating expanded adaption measures in conventional planning practices remains a major challenge due to institutional barriers. Based on the theories of historical institutionalism in relation to path divergence, this paper aims to understand the factors which determine the fate of innovations and departures from established practice. Using Guangzhou as a case study, the paper traces the history of the city's struggle against flooding from the 1920s onwards, building on documentary analysis, mapping and interviews. The findings highlight a deeply rooted attachment to engineering-based solutions to tackle flood risk. It also indicates that departing from an established path to embed nature-based and non-structural solutions in the planning system is more likely to take place in response to changing socio-economic needs and strong institutional support for changes, rather than in response to major flooding events. These findings provide lessons for policymakers and urban planners seeking to enact new policies to enhance flood resilience in spatial planning. • This paper explores the historical experience of Guangzhou's spatial planning system strving for flood resilience as well as the evolution of planning policies and flood governance. • This study brings with the notion path dependence and path deviation, originating from social science and governance management, to research on the change and continuity of planning policies. • This paper explores the conditions allowing for path deviation concerning institutional environment, socio-economic context and natural hazards. • This paper offers a theoretical framework for planning to act upon flood affairs through avoidance, defence, mitigation, preparation and evacuation. • This paper discusses the challenges of the Sponge City Programme and sheds light on the conditions for a successful transition from the current situation to new "Sponge City" practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper profiles Fukuoka City in Kyushu, Japan. We focus on the city's local climate change adaptation policies, and in particular the role of urban and greenspace planning in facilitating adaptation actions within Fukuoka. Fukuoka is a humid subtropical city which is currently experiencing significant population and economic growth. It has also made comparatively rigorous advances in climate adaptation, in a country context where local governments have been criticised for focusing more on mitigation. Fukuoka hence may yield lessons for other rapidly urbanising subtropical Asian cities. We illustrate that Fukuoka has a long tradition of science-policy connection towards the creation of a liveable urban environment. This creates a favourable research and policy infrastructure for adaptation, in particular mitigation of heat risk. This is evidenced in consideration of climate issues within the city's greenspace plans since the 1990s, and in an extensive body of underpinning applied research from local institutions into urban thermal environments in particular. Fukuoka's green terraced ACROS building has come to symbolise adaptation via the built environment, and has been followed by the emergence of further green roofs and through citizen and private sector involvement in smaller-scale greening actions. We caution that challenges remain around connecting different sections of local governments, and in maintaining climate and environmental imperatives in the face of ongoing development and expansion pressures. • Fukuoka among early adopters of municipal climate change adaptation action in Japan • Fukuoka demonstrates adaptation responses for an expanding sub-tropical Asian city. • Understanding of wind corridors and cooling by greening informs Fukuoka city plans. • Adaptation via planning continues much longer trend of liveable urban environment. • Challenges remain in balancing economic development pressures with climate actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly guided by the use of ICT, the flow of humans and materials, smart cities and autonomous mobility amalgamate into a game changer in urban planning. This paper critically explores the role of autonomous (driverless) vehicles in plans for urban futures. By looking into the urban plans of 10 European capitals, we investigate the anticipated promises and hazards of autonomous vehicles. Theoretically, the paper draws upon critical urban mobilities studies that invite interlinking carbon reduction, smart cities and mobility planning. By examining these plans, the paper critically evaluates current urban planning for autonomous vehicles by asking whether one can identify any links to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of sustainable cities and communities. A practice-based view on automation is then suggested as a pathway to promote a thorough sustainable mobility transition. It is concluded that none of the plans of the 10 capitals studied require AVs to integrate with public means of transport or to be fuelled by renewable energy sources. Hence, AVs are likely to individualise and intensify the existing automobility regime further and emissions are likely to increase, according to the comparative urban analysis. We therefore conclude that urban policy-making needs to contest the existing techno-centric conception of autonomous vehicles if these are to support the sustainable development goals of cities. • Urban governance of AV mainly displays recrafting policy framings, though sequencing is also identified. • Comparative document analysis of AV governance across cities using new mobility planning as methodological framework. • Urban governance of AV integrated with MaaS and public transportation best accommodate SDG 11 on cities. • Urban governance of AV should favour soft mobility over cars whether automated or not according to planning documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper contributes to filling the theoretical and practical gaps of city resilience literature, which lacks multifaceted theorizing and typically overlooks the multidisciplinary and complex nature of urban resilience. Furthermore, most studies on the subject make use of general, vague, and confusing terminology. This paper suggests a new innovative conceptual framework (the Resilient City Planning Framework or RCPF) that addresses the critical question of what cities and their urban communities should do in order to move towards a more resilient state in the future. Accordingly, the RCPF takes complexity and uncertainty into account. It is affected by a multiplicity of economic, social, spatial, and physical factors and its planning involves a wide range of stakeholders. RCPF is a network of four interlinked concepts that together, provide a comprehensive understanding of City Resilience. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low carbon cities. What, exactly, are we talking about? Are we talking about lifestyles, activities, or enterprises? Are we talking about individual or group voluntary behavior change or a policy framework that seeks to encourage behavior change by regulatory force? Faced with an enormous literature that mixes related topics like sustainable development/climate change/energy conservation/low carbon, it is not surprising to hear about local governments’ or planners’ “climate change initiatives”. This paper describes/reflects on how officials in Broward County, Florida, are dealing with issues of awareness, governance, measurement, and instruments for challenges arising from the combined threats of energy depletion and climate change. The overriding objective of this paper is to provide some pith for the discussion of planning for low carbon cities. To this end, we describe and reflect on the planning management responses of Broward County, Florida, USA – as an illustrative local government – in dealing with climate change challenges (CCC), energy conservation (EC) and greenhouse gas reduction (GHG). Both description and reflection are important as it is primarily the latter that provides the critical perspective necessary for assessing both potential and effect. The paper is organized into five sections. The first two sections address the “contextual” questions raised above: what is the level of knowledge and/or awareness among the collection of planners and/or local governments; and, what are/is appropriate responses of different levels of government. In the next section, we review overall levels of knowledge and awareness of basic science and policy dimensions, with particular attention paid to (a version of the) US planning profession. This is followed by a discussion of “theoretical” prescriptions for actions at different levels of government. The third and fourth sections focus on Broward County. The third section describes the county and presents a current measurement of its carbon footprint (at least at the level to which it can be measured). The fourth section describes the operational response of Broward County government. The final section returns to the original questions of knowledge and appropriate types of responses and argues that while the Broward response is generally effective in certain aspects, the current policy paradigm contains both strengths and weaknesses, which are generally outlined and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Urbanization poses both challenges and opportunities for the management of urban ecosystems globally. In the Greater Montreal Area (GMA), a major North American urban area where green infrastructure (GI) implementation is in its early stage, there are challenges in maintaining provision of ecosystem services due to urban expansion and climate change impacts. In response, stakeholders in the GMA are trying to further integrate the GI concept into planning practices and have participated in focus groups to discuss various approaches to implementing the GI concept. This paper addresses stakeholder perceptions of the opportunities and obstacles related to natural ecosystem management in the GMA. We discuss the way in which participants perceive the prospect of the GI concept to influence discourse and policy about environmental planning. We found plural perspectives on GI yet there was a broad consensus regarding problems in bringing planning tools in line with socio-ecological processes. This research provides a novel contribution by showing how the concept of GI informs narratives about metropolitan green space and environmental planning. The narratives of most research participants emphasised: 1) that efforts to protect and enhance the urban ecosystem should be approached within a coherent social and ecological framework at the scale of the metropolitan area, and 2) that GI planning needed to rely on collaborative and participatory approaches to enhance ecosystem services at all scales of the GMA. Highlights • GI provides a comprehensive approach to urban environmental planning, and is conducive to identifying limitations in existing policies. • Moving forward with GI implementation requires planing approaches integrating diverse sources of knowledge through public participation. • Discussions about GI raises a normative dimension about interactions between socioecological processes and structures of governance. • Narratives on GI emphasise the importance of distributing benefits and costs related to ecosystem management through improved collaboration. • The adaptability of the GI concept constitutes an impediment to persuade central actors to implement a coherent regional scale approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper joins the growing scholarly concern for the sharpening of social and environmental inequalities in European cities, particularly those generated in Eastern Europe by evictions of poor Roma from inner-city areas and by the invisibilization of their extreme conditions. We argue that these processes – evictions and invisibilizations – create a heightened vulnerability to climate change impacts for these individuals. The paper uses secondary survey data on compact Roma groups in Romania and analyses qualitative and cartographic information collected by the authors (2019) in two mid-sized cities in Romania to flesh out the particular slum ecologies that emerge following evictions. The focus is also on the subtle processes of invisibilization that render displaced Roma vulnerable and rob them of the "right to the city" in terms of climate change adaptation. Our finding is that evicted Roma experience innumerable, "routine" weather-related impacts, such as floods, storms or cold. By exploring Roma's heightened exposure, sensitivity and reduced adaptive capacity, we show how these impacts increase their vulnerability to future extreme weather events. These findings are indicative of a broader process of fragmentation taking place in urban areas throughout Eastern Europe, which render invisible some very real barriers to climate change adaptation. • The evictions of poor Roma from two cities in Romania are explored. • These evictions create vulnerabilization to climate change impacts. • Evicted Roma face exposures, increased sensitivity and reduced adaptability. • These effects are invisibilized and preclude the adoption of adaptation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bhutan is a rapidly growing economy currently undergoing swift and extensive rural-to-urban migration. Its commitment to carbon neutrality, as well as its unique Gross National Happiness (GNH) objectives, make Bhutan a fascinating laboratory for studying sustainable development strategies and how they can be specifically tailored to align with local contexts and values. This paper uses the framing of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) from the global climate change mitigation literature to develop a vision for a locally appropriate SSP for a sustainable Bhutan, encompassing energy supply, energy demand, and urban and regional planning. The approach outlined here demonstrates how research-based recommendations from the academic literature can be combined with knowledge of local considerations to develop place-based visions for sustainable societies. The proposed sustainable pathway for Bhutan (SSP1) outlines a future in which the nation continues to sequester more carbon than it emits while maintaining traditional cultural values, a strong sense of community, and a burgeoning economy. Outcomes of alternative scenarios are described according to the nine domains of GNH. Focusing on Bhutan as a real case study, this paper thus demonstrates how mitigation measures can be selected and implemented to align with unique cultural values and national aspirations. • Identify the place-based sustainable transitions • Develop an extended Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) for Bhutan • Develop assumptions of regionally balanced development scenario as SSP1 (Sustainability) • Analyze mitigation measures and options based on Bhutan's sustainability pathway • Raise key factors to achieve a sustainable Bhutan based on developed scenarios [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design storm criteria (i.e., the specific intensity and/or frequency to which infrastructure systems are designed to withstand) are a critical part of resilience efforts within urban and infrastructure systems. However, factors like climate change and increasing complexity within our urban systems call into question the viability of current approaches to and implementation of design storm criteria moving forward. This paper seeks to identify design practices and strategies that are well-suited for the increasingly complex and rapidly changing contexts in which our cities and infrastructure are operating. We posit that the advancement of a multi-scalar perspective on resilience will be increasingly necessary in response to the growing challenges our cities and infrastructure face. At the scale of single components/sub-systems, return periods (or similar criteria) will likely remain a necessary element of the design process. At the scale of the entire system(s), approaches like safe-to-fail , robust decision making , and enhanced sensing and simulation appear well suited for complementing existing approaches by more explicitly considering failure consequences in the design and management processes. Ultimately, this paper seeks to spur continual research and advancement of these topics in order to facilitate the evolution of the design storm process for an increasingly complex and non-stationary world. • Design storm criteria are fundamental mechanisms for resilience in infrastructure systems. • Design storm criteria are increasingly challenged by climate change and complexity. • Explicit consideration of failure consequences and equity is warranted in design storm criteria. • Multi-scale/multi-disciplinary perspective on resilience can help design storm criteria evolve for 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing risks associated with climate-related hazards, urban development in many coastal cities continues to take place on low-lying, high-risk land. Resilience is a key concept in adaptation, however, in the context of cities it is a complex phenomenon influenced by a diverse range of factors. This paper explores how the key elements of urban resilience (agents, institutions, and systems) interact to determine the types of approaches cities take to build resilience in two Australian cities. It uses case study data including semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from local and state government authorities, non-government organisations, consulting firms, and researchers to the insurance industry. Findings indicate that the attitude of agents shapes the institutions and systems thus determining types of adaptation strategies in response to climate change. When the community's desire to live close to water couples with a lack of understanding or underestimation of the impacts, adaptation efforts are undermined. These findings call for a focus on the key role of agents for a transformational approach to building resilience that is based on shared learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City governments worldwide are increasingly introducing adaptation actions and climate responses in their policies and agendas, but the speed and success of these initiatives vary widely. Understanding these interventions, barriers and opportunities for urban adaptation remains a challenge for scholars and policy-makers. In this paper, we assess climate adaptation policy in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil, paying special attention to missed opportunities and potential synergies. We focus on climate policies and urban interventions in São Paulo, specifically on the analysis of documents related to the Municipal Climate Change Policy (launched in 2009) and New Master Plan (concluded in 2014). We describe local responses to climate change already implemented in the city and explore some of the factors that affect its adaptation. We argue that although the megacity has recently implemented innovative urban policies and a set of municipal actions that aim to overcome many of the city's challenges, São Paulo is missing an opportunity to mainstream climate change to improve its adaptive capacity. In exploring some of the local initiatives implemented in recent years, we seek to understand responses to climate change that emerge in Brazilian cities, particularly considering that cities learn from each other to adapt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing concern about major threats, including climate change, environmental disasters, and other hazards, is matched with the increased interest and appeal of the concept of urban resilience. Much scholarly attention has focused on how to define urban resilience, in addition to raising questions about its applicability and usefulness. But those debates typically overlook questions of implementation. Implementation is important not only for how cities respond to threats but also because it can influence how urban resilience is perceived, discussed, and understood. The policy literature suggests that implementation is rarely straightforward and has ideological and normative perspectives embedded within it. Building on this literature, this paper argues that urban resilience implementation raises its own conceptual questions for both theory and practice. Further, implementing urban resilience entails its own unique challenges, such as extensive coordination, maintaining adaptability, divergent time horizons, and diverse outcomes. The paper also introduces the idea of resilience resistance as a new challenge for urban resilience. Resistance refers to the condition in which governance systems inherently develop barriers to change, flexibility, and adaptability through implementation. Several aspects of resistance are highlighted, including fatigue, complacency, and overconfidence. However, the implementation process can also have unintended positive effects on a city's capacity to prepare for and respond to shocks. • Debates about urban resilience may overlook the importance of policy implementation • How policies are implemented can influence discussions and understanding of the concept of urban resilience • Urban resilience implementation raises its own conceptual questions for theory and practice • Implementation can lead to resilience resistance, which reduces the capacity for cities to respond to shocks and stresses [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the ways stakeholder preferences and perspectives of stormwater management converge and diverge in Chicago. With a greater emphasis on broad stakeholder participation in urban environmental governance and decision-making, accommodating and moderating multiple and competing perspectives will become a greater part of urban green-space planning. Decision-makers must choose how resources are to be allocated to manage stormwater and decide among the multiple and sometimes conflicting options available to reduce the impact of stormwater at different sites across the city and region. This paper examines the disparate understandings of how to best manage stormwater in the city. The results reveal that departmental silos may not adequately explain variation in stakeholder perspectives. Instead, two dominant perspectives towards stormwater management connect diverse stakeholder groups in Chicago: the Infrastructural Interventionist and the Institutional Interventionist. The first strongly views stricter laws and regulations, developed in tandem with science and data-driven approaches, as the best way to improve stormwater management. The second desires new rules and institutions to foster integrated management approaches, as well as more robust economic instruments capable of assigning a monetary value to stormwater, as critical to resolving stormwater problems. Conflicting points of perspective arise around the preferred type of infrastructure to be implemented to deal with stormwater and how it is to be developed. Understanding how these two social perspectives interact and conflict is important in considering the actions that will ultimately be undertaken to direct landscape changes capable of resolving the multiple challenges Chicago faces in managing stormwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of cities are recognising the impacts of climate change on their development pathways. In this paper, we assess strategic climate adaptation actions in the cities of Durban (South Africa), Indore (India), and Medellin (Colombia), and examine different approaches to integrating emerging adaptation priorities into urban plans, programmes, or governance arrangements. We highlight sources of planning tension – particularly between aspects of the planning process and larger urban political economic forces – that reshape how subsequent adaptation interventions are framed and implemented. We find that when advanced with a focus on alignment with development, strategic actions that transcend individual actor or sectoral interests have a better chance at taking root. However, we note that a procedural focus in strategic urbanism must also be accompanied by an integrated assessment of planning outcomes in order to ensure more equitable and inclusive development in cities. Although strategic approaches may facilitate coherent policy framings, targeted actor coalitions, and opportunities for collaborative action, such approaches are often unable to adequately capture the difficult policy trade-offs or contestations that are required to further overall adaptive capacities of cities. In other words, strategic adaptation actions must be considered in relation to the powerful, and often entrenched, political economic interests that constrain urban equity at-large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is high on the agenda for decision-makers in urban policy and planning. With the rise of innovation districts, cities have seen entire precincts being dedicated to facilitating and boosting innovation. The aim of this paper is to better understand the potential of innovation districts for transformative innovation policy aligning innovation objectives with wider societal and environmental needs in cities through urban experimentation. To explore this interface, it draws on a case study of the evolution of the Melbourne's Innovation District (MID) City North and its embedded test sites initiative. At a general conceptual level, the key emerging themes are the following: (1) the imperative for innovation in innovation districts oscillates between primarily economic objectives in terms of attracting start-ups & spin-offs and generating creative jobs in the knowledge economy on the one hand and aligning innovation investments and outcomes with social and environmental needs in and of the city. The public has an increasing role to play in lending legitimacy to innovation districts and aligning its purpose with economic, social and environmental needs. (2) Due to shifting imperatives there is a lack of clarity on the innovation imaginary rendering interpretative flexibility to shaping the global concept of innovation districts 'on the ground'; (3) An innovation district affords a safe space for urban experimentation and contestation around the purpose of innovation; (4) imperatives and imaginaries around innovation districts evolve in response to external pressures. • Innovation is high on the agenda for decision-makers in urban policy – some may argue too high. • Progressively considering the negative consequences of previous framings of innovation policy • A 'third frame' targeting 'transformative change' entails a shift in innovation policy. • We trace the evolution of the MID to identify shift towards the third frame. • We identify key emerging themes evident in our case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption of urban areas is a relevant theme for sustainable spatial planning. Through the integration of energy and urban planning issues, it can be identified a suitable strategy to face climate change. This study aims to evaluate overall energy demand of existing urban neighbourhoods, considering the most energy intensive sectors within a city. Using GIS software, the method provides energy mapping of neighbourhoods, allowing to improve the insight of energy demand of cities and to develop a preliminary assessment for future scenarios. The method has been applied to a neighbourhood of the municipality of Catania in southern Italy. Methodology and earliest results are discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the different ways in which the cities of Hamburg and Rotterdam are taking preemptive action to adapt to climate change. Literature, interviews, secondary data, official statistics, project reports and policy briefs were used to identify institutional arrangements used by the city governments to encourage innovations in climate adaptation strategies and involve the private sector in climate change policy implementation. We focus on cases that create positive opportunities; exploring how innovations are facilitated within the theoretical frameworks of the Porter hypothesis and eco-innovation. We examine two possible pathways of climate change governance, firstly strict regulation and formal enforcement, and secondly institutional eco-innovation and voluntary measures. We found that different emphasis is placed on the preferred pathway in each of the case studies. Hamburg focuses on formal enforcements while the Rotterdam city government encourages institutional eco-innovation by acting as a platform and also providing incentives. Our findings suggest that a well-designed institutional framework can enhance innovation and increase environmental and business performance. The framework could vary in instruments and patterns, using both formal constraints and incentives to increase voluntary actions to shape policy. The formal rules could be stringent or incentivising to shape the climate change measures. The research aims to contribute to both practice and science by providing examples that might motivate and inspire other cities to design appropriate institutions for climate change policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has existed for over three centuries and has developed into the financial capital and most important economic hub of Vietnam. This profile outlines the history of HCMC's development and its impact on current conditions and physical structure of the city. The paper analyzes some of the problems with respect to urban land use that have occurred in HCMC in the transitional period after Doi Moi and discusses the city's future challenges, in the perspective of climate change and further economic and population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current policy and stakeholder debates suggest that climate change remains a risk factor for the rising urban floods situation in Ghana. However, there is a dearth of empirical works to explain the link between flood incidence and climatic-related factors. Using a long-term secondary climatic data, this paper analyses the extent to which climate change influences the incidence of floods in urban Ghana. In-depth qualitative analysis of the perspectives of households and key informants was carried out to complement the initial quantitative analysis in order to broaden the understanding of the risk factors of the worsening floods situation. The results have shown that the rising flood situation in Kumasi is largely independent of climate-induced increase in rainfall and current temperature patterns but strongly linked with anthropogenic factors, including unregulated urban expansion, inadequate drainage infrastructure, poor solid waste management practices, and weak institutional and regulatory regimes. Strengthening institutions, law enforcement and public education are important interventions to control the flood menace in Ghana. • Public discourse suggests that climate change remains a risk factor for the rising floods in urban Ghana. • The rising floods in Kumasi is largely independent of climate-induced rainfall increase and current temperature patterns. • Anthropogenic factors largely explain the rising urban floods in Kumasi. • Strengthening institutions, law enforcement and public education are key in the control of flood menace in Kumasi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities must transform in order to address the challenge of climate change and to achieve societal ambitions such as the sustainable development goals. However, a key impediment to achieving transformation is underdeveloped understandings of how key actors and sectors within the built environment work together to achieve goals. This paper addresses these gaps by developing and visually presenting a process map to describe: the key processes involved in producing the built environment across its life stages; key sectors of the built environment, their key actors, and the activities coordinated between them. The process map was peer reviewed by an expert reference group of built environment professionals active in Australia and the UK. The motivation for developing this process map is to facilitate future research to identify and expedite opportunities for coordinated action to address significant societal challenges such as climate change action, and the sustainable development goals – which require transformative action in cities. • Cities must transform to address climate change • We develop a process map to describe the production of the built environment • Process map describes fundamental activities for producing the built environment • Process map spans built environment life stages; identifying activities and interactions of key sectors and actors • Can be applied to inform transformative action targeted at challenges such as climate change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities, as entities, are inevitably exposed to a range of the internal and external factors that shape their urban development and planning. As complex adaptive systems, cities possess different capabilities and opportunities for the re-configuration, transformation and learning from these disturbances. This city profile explores these processes using Darwin, the Northern Territory's capital and Australia's eighth-largest city as an example. The city profile is situated within Urban Resilience Theory. It unpacks the nuanced way geographic factors and spatial isolation; natural disasters, World War 2 bombing, border security threats, natural resource extraction, and tourism have shaped Darwin's urban development. Understanding these nuances and their spatiotemporal dynamics coalesces into the identified system susceptibilities and opportunities for an adaptive and sustainable development presented in this paper. The city's unique urban governance, successive reconstruction, socio-spatial dynamics, history, and challenges make it an excellent case study of city growth dynamics and resilience within the Asian-Pacific region. The profile highlights Darwin's regional planning and the (historic) production of urban space, along with climate change risks and adaptation, increasingly inaccessible housing and unaffordability, economic growth challenges and demographic dynamics. • Population growth was associated with capital projects, resource extraction booms, and military presence in Darwin. • Complex political, socio-economic, and disruptive forces shaped population growth, urban planning, and development. • Darwin has one of the most expensive rental housing markets among Australian capital cities. • Current spatial growth and development furthered automobile-dependent mobility among households. • Project-based development approaches proved to be inadequate to deliver sustainable and resilient urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the concepts of the resilient cities and environmental resilience and employ a framework of assessing resilient city and develop and trial indicators to assess the environmental resilience of local governments. As a result, the resilient city has been defined as one having the ability to respond to multiple risks. The author employs a structure consisting of the types of resilient measures (precautionary, adaptive, and conversion measures) being prepared by local governments (administrative indicators) and the types of external forces and vulnerabilities that local governments face and anticipated situations to be avoid (end points) for which such measures are being prepared, as well as quantitative (urban indicators) and qualitative (citizen indicators) assessment of the types of potential capabilities they possess. The author developed more than 130 indicators in total. Results of using a questionnaire to local governments across Japan in order to measure administrative indicators showed that threats anticipated by most local governments included earthquakes, population decreases, and increases in greenhouse-gas emissions, and the resilience measures they are implementing and preparing included promotion of renewable energy as a preventive measure and enhancement of methods of collecting and providing disaster-related information as an adaptive measure. • The resilient city has been defined as one having the ability to respond to multiple risks in Japan. • A precautionary, adaptive, and conversion resilient measures examined with local governments • The author applied more than 130 resilient indicators across Japan. • Results showed that earthquakes, population decreases, and increases in greenhouse-gas emissions are top threats in [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a need to create sustainable urban development and quality living environments for the growing urban populations of high-density cities. Sustainable urban planning of high-density cities from the urban climatic point of view is a topical issue for city planners and policy makers. However, the application of urban climatic knowledge has only led to low-impact urban planning decision-making. This is especially true in high-density cities in developing countries. Thus, there is an urgent need to seek ways to quickly collate urban climatic information for planning in a format that is user-friendly for planners. This study has identified ways to promote the use of urban climatic knowledge in planning. By utilizing readily-available data, the paper introduces a method that focuses on urban planning using an urban climatic map (UCMap). A UCMap provides a visual and spatial information platform for the planner-friendly Geographical Information System (GIS). By focusing on Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the study first defines the urban climatic issues in the area. It then introduces the key methodology of urban climatic mapping and elaborates on general urban-climatic-based planning advice for planners using a UCMap. Lastly, it identifies sensitive areas and provides planning recommendations that can be easily tested and applied by city planners. The critical importance of urban greenery and coverage, urban air paths and open spaces, water bodies and rivers, and building morphology and layout have been highlighted visually and spatially for planners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Outdoor spaces are important to sustainable cities because they accommodate pedestrian traffic and outdoor activities, and contribute greatly to urban livability and vitality. In the global context of climate change, outdoor spaces that provide a pleasurable thermal comfort experience for pedestrians effectively improve the quality of urban living. The influence of thermal comfort on outdoor activities is a complex issue comprising both climatic and behavioral aspects; however, current investigations lack a general framework for assessment. This paper presents a review of research over the past decade on the behavioral aspects of outdoor thermal comfort. The article focuses on perceptions of outdoor thermal comfort and the use of outdoor space in the context of urban planning. We further discuss a general framework for assessing outdoor thermal comfort based on behavioral aspects and the need for predicting tools in the design and planning of outdoor thermal comfort. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With 60% of the population younger than 26years, a need of about 1.5 million residential units per year for the next 5years and the necessity of mitigating its rapidly growing GHG emissions together with adapting cities to the expected drastic effects of climate change, Iran’s urban agglomerations are facing tremendous challenges now and in the future. The paper presents interim findings of the German–Iranian research initiative “Young Cities” (2005–2013) that investigates approaches for these immense challenges. The project aims at developing energy-efficient and resilient housing in a real-life pilot project, the 35ha area in Hashtgerd New Town in the Tehran province. The article explores the framing conditions and the master plan of this pilot and identifies four key planning strategies. Besides applying climate-sensitive urban form, the project stresses the need to develop culturally adapted building typologies for reduced heating and cooling, an efficient public transport in a mixed and dense urban structure and integrated water and energy systems on the neighborhood level. Simulations of these planning approaches have proven a significant reduction of energy- and resource consumption and the capacity of the design to adapt to (a potentially changing) environment. These promising strategies for energy-efficiency and resilience were transferred into a legally binding comprehensive plan commissioned in October 2010, though the major challenge in the second phase of the project (2011–2013) will be making these innovations a built reality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper criticizes the progress of the Brazilian government in preventing greenhouse gas emissions originating in urban areas. In 2009, Brazil approved its “National Policy on Climate Change”, complementing the 2008s National Plan on Climate Change (NPCC). In these documents, the federal government established measures to be undertaken in order to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, focusing on deforestation. However, the federal government should have regulated urban emissions, since the present Brazilian urbanization context, with big metropolises and the gradual migration of the population to the suburbs, represents a burden on climate change. With this new reality, transport and electricity use tend to grow, with the consequent increase in emissions. On the other hand, the municipalities are responsible for most city planning and transportation policies in Brazil. Pressed by their daily needs, they show little concern towards climate change and do not include the regulation of major sources of emissions among their priorities. Consequently, the municipalities are inefficient in preventing climate change. There are two main explanations for that: they do not have the know-how to prevent emissions; and they do not share this political agenda, since the impact of climate change is seldom acknowledged in the city where the emissions occur. Therefore, the central government has a role to play in regulating urban emissions. The study concludes that the National Plan and the National Policy, being federal documents, should have addressed urban emissions throughout the nation. Ultimately, they should be revised to guide city planners into planning greener cities. In order to succeed in this task, this legislation should not only require the reduction of emissions, but it should also indicate to the municipalities how they might achieve the reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Local authorities are important actors to mitigate climate change. They can implement policies which can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in sectors like transport, waste, agriculture and land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). They can also implement policies which can increase carbon dioxide removals. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is one of the most important initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the EU. It is a cap and trade scheme encompassing almost half of the European-wide carbon dioxide emissions. However, carbon dioxide removals and sectors associated with local authorities’ responsibilities are not included in the EU ETS. The main objective of this paper is to propose an original cap and trade system, called LETS, designed to involve local authorities. The LETS was then tested and applied to all the local authorities in the mainland of Portugal covering emissions and removals of a single greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) in the LULUCF and the transport sectors. The system proved to have the necessary conditions to be implemented and adaptable to other country contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an approach to quantifying current and future city-wide flood risks to Ho Chi Minh City. Here urban planning scenarios linking urban development and climate change explore the main driving forces of future risk. According to the redefined role of urban environmental planning in times of climate change, spatial planning needs to go beyond traditional planning approaches to bring together, draw upon and integrate individual policies for urban adaptation strategies for land-use planning. Our initial research results highlight that the spatiotemporal processes of urban development, together with climate change, are the central driving forces for climate-related impacts. The influence of planned urban developments to the year 2025 on future flood risk is seen to be significantly greater than that of projected sea-level rise to the year 2100. These results aid local decision making in an effort to better understand the nature of future climate change risks to the city and to identify the main driver of urban exposure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change presents one of the greatest challenges in urban development planning, yet leadership from planning can help society grapple with this challenge. Success in planning is especially important in coastal cities, where urbanization is heavily influenced by the coastline, and development planning processes have to take into consideration the socio-economic as well as ecological reasons why cities were located at the coast. This paper investigates the possibilities of and impediments to an integrated city-level planning framework that is responsive to climate change, using the case of the East African coastal city of Mombasa. It contends that both the principle of subsidiarity as well as the established law give the municipal government the necessary jurisdiction over the baseline issues underlying city management, which through stakeholder engagement, can be leveraged to facilitate an integrated climate change-responsive planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to present the main drivers for climate agenda advance in the city of Recife in Brazil, discussing how geographical characteristics and the historical urbanization process of the city have contributed to the climate risks and vulnerabilities. A city profile is designed and the literature about drivers to cities actions to climate change are used as theoretical basis. The presence of committed leaders, multilevel governance, being part of multinational cities networks and access to funding are traditional fundamental factors identified in the literature to strength climate agenda in a city which were also found in Recife. The climate risks imposed to cities with lower development level were found as important driver to climate action, unlike what previous studies showed for European cities. The article contributes evidencing factors that can decisively assist cities to strength the climate agenda, mainly in developing or less developed countries. It also provides insights for academics and policymakers about low carbon urban strategies that can be adopted by cities. This is the first city profile to address the relationship between the impacts of urban evolution in a Latin American city and the threats imposed by climate change. • The presence of committed leaders, multilevel governance, being part of multinational cities networks and access to funding are traditional fundamental factors identified in the literature to strength climate agenda in a city which were also found in Recife. • The climate risks imposed to cities with lower development level were found as important driver to climate action, unlike what previous studies showed for European cities. • Cities, especially in developing and less developed countries, can exploit these drivers to strengthen their climate agenda. The path adopted by Recife can serve as an example in their climate planning. • The institutionalization of the climate agenda is fundamental to avoid interferences due to changes in the city's political management. The formation of climate leaders is essential to reduce the need of external support. The multilevel governance must be strengthened. Capacity building, finance, and cooperation with other cities is fundamental to move forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience has become an important concept in urban governance, yet, the policies that cities actually adopt and implement to build resilience remain largely unknown. The lack of empirical studies on resilience policies hinders our ability to develop theory, ask new questions, and test hypotheses. The goal of this paper is to quantify and compare policies and programs of the 101 largest cities in the U.S. that tangibly affect resilience. We develop a set of resilience policies and then search government websites for evidence of adoption of those policies. To explore patterns of policy adoption, we conduct factor analysis and correlation. We find that resilience does not coalesce around any particular sets of programs. Instead, resilience is a flexible concept, modified to address local context. Substantive groupings of policies do not explain policy adoption. Different dimensions such as funding and level of needed commitment may better explain empirical patterns of policy adoption. Across cities, greater attention must be dedicated to addressing drivers of social vulnerability and climate change impacts. By examining what cities are doing and whether there are underlying patterns to the policies they pursue, we tackle basic empirical questions of how to make sense of the evolving resilience landscape. • Quantify and compare adoption of resilience policies across 101 largest U.S. cities • Large variation in number of policies adopted across cities • Across cities, limited action on climate change adaptation, advancing equity, and hardening critical infrastructure • Substantive categories of policies do not describe patterns of adoption. • Formal resilience programs do not coalesce around a single set of policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipalities in developing countries can contribute to mitigating climate change and thereby benefit from reductions in the emissions of conventional pollutants and traffic jams or from improvements in waste management systems, amongst other local benefits. These benefits result from measures taken to reduce greenhouse gases emissions (or carbon sequestration) by two means: either measures taken to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions themselves and/or from the income obtained in the international carbon market. The evaluation of the current status of emissions and the potential for mitigation measures are based on various planning techniques, such as inventories and scenario building, as suggested in the paper. A brief report of the experience in making an inventory from secondary data and building up scenarios that has been undertaken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is presented as a case study. Mitigation measures that are beneficial to the quality of city environments and suited to municipal administrations are also presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban areas play a pivotal role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to adverse effects of climate change, worldwide. Climate-related assessment of urban development projects shall contribute to reduce complex climate vulnerability, especially in fast growing cities in emerging economies. Hungarian cities face significant challenges regarding changing climatic patterns, consequently climate-oriented assessment methodology to evaluate the performance of urban development interventions is needed. The main aim of the research was to elaborate on a comprehensive methodology that can define mitigation, adaptation, and awareness-raising aspects of interventions; moreover may reveal path dependencies in order to avoid negative lock-ins during urban development activities. The developed method uses a three-step scoring approach to assess both direct and indirect impacts of selected interventions while taking into account the main objectives of the Budapest Climate Change Strategy as evaluation criteria in order to strengthen local-specific characters. By applying the developed methodology, the main conclusions can be defined by paying attention to weaknesses and strengths of the selected interventions regarding mitigation, adaptation, and awareness-raising issues; thus, further recommendations were identified to improve their overall climate performance and to avoid negative lock-ins. • Analysis of urban development actions is crucial in avoiding negative lock-ins. • The developed method uses a three-step scoring approach to assess both the direct and indirect impacts of selected interventions. • Further recommendations were identified to improve their overall climate performance and to avoid negative lock-ins. • The recommendations made in the present paper may support the decision making processes during the whole life cycle of planned actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation continuously imposes pressure on coastal brownfield sites. At the same time, climate change and associated consequences on coastal environments make these sites less secure for human habitation. Converging stresses make the renewal process of these sites challenging, to the extent that they are often perceived as wicked problems. Several scholars suggest that temporary best solutions are identifiable to address wicked problems via an Adaptive , Participatory and Transdisciplinary (APT) approach. This paper operationalises the APT framework by evaluating the development of a strategic land-use framework for the transformation of a coastal brownfield site in southern Victoria, Australia. Policy and planning documents and in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders were analysed. Results show that the process incorporated elements of the APT approach by engaging with diverse stakeholder views during consultation and included community appraisal of alternative scenarios. However, the process fell short of being truly transdisciplinary or collaborative as it separated disciplinary inputs in decision-making. As a result, it did not appear to influence the final plan to achieve adaptive and responsive outcomes. We conclude that a uniquely placed-based and adaptive response can be created when all stakeholders deeply and effectively collaborate to develop shared understandings of the problem and co-create shared responses. We demonstrate that an integrated APT framework, one that focuses on synergies between A, P and T, can provide a useful tool for assessing the decision-making process of complex projects. Furthermore, our recommendations to advance APT can help directing future decision-making processes in similar projects with wicked problems. Unlabelled Image • Coastal brownfield transformations pose wicked challenges to decision makers. • An analytical framework for operationalising the Adaptive, Participatory, and Transdisciplinary (APT) approach was developed. • The APT framework was tested to evaluate a coastal brownfield transformation in Australia. • Suggestions were made for an integrated APT decision making approach. • For a uniquely placed-based and adaptive response, stakeholders should deeply collaborate to co-create shared responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic motivated this paper, which revisits the nexus of public health and the city, itself a main source of a pandemic which similarly threatens the lives and properties of the world population gradually one glacier at a time: climate change. We argue that pandemics expose both the vulnerability and resilience of the urban system expansively, from rooftop to the region, but also serve as change agents for the planning of resilient cities and regions globally. The discussion of the urban system and the pandemic is comparative, with the recent coronavirus and climate change, a persistent, long-lasting pandemic. The historical and critical review and synthesis of the durable concepts of the urban system at the kernel of the theories and practices of urbanism is highlighted by place matters, cyberspace, density, access, and the city-region. We note the implications for reconfiguring the resilient urban system of the future effectively with pandemic as change agent and the comprehensive plan and its regulatory zoning ordinance as implementation tool. • Pandemics expose both the vulnerability and resilience of the urban system, from rooftop to the region. • Pandemics are change agents for the comprehensive planning of resilient cities and regions. • The discussion of the urban system and the pandemic is comparative, with the recent coronavirus and persistent climate change. • We highlight durable concepts of the urban system at the kernel of the theories and practices of urbanism. • The resilient urban system is characterized holistically by place matters, cyberspace, density, access, and the city-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Southern California becomes hotter and dryer, wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe. At the same time, the suburbanization of poverty and immigration are making the region increasingly – albeit unevenly - diverse. This paper synthesizes insights from planning and ecology to address the following questions: how do burned areas differ from the rest of the region in terms of poverty, race, and housing values; how has this changed since 1980; and what are the implications for environmental justice? Typically, low-income urban communities of color are disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts. However, this study finds that the wildland-adjacent neighborhoods most impacted by wildfire have remained predominantly white and affluent, even as Southern California has become increasingly diverse. Moreover, housing in burned areas is increasingly more expensive. These results indicate that home ownership in a fire-prone, wildland-adjacent neighborhood is a profitable investment for those who can afford it. This situation is likely creating perverse incentives for continued development of the wildland-urban interface, leading to both continued ecological disturbance and affluent residents continuing to subject themselves to more physical danger than they have acknowledged. • Since 1980, Southern California has become increasingly diverse. • However, the wildland-adjacent suburbs most impacted by wildfire have remained predominantly white and affluent. • Moreover, housing in burned areas is increasingly more expensive than housing in the rest of the region. • This situation is likely creating perverse incentives for continued development of the wildland-urban interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]