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The cities of the world have been the exploiters of resources and the largest generators of waste. This paper explores the concept of Ecological Urbanism as a framework to convert cities from being waste generators to resource producers. The example of the wastewater from Bengaluru going into the lakes of Kolar is studied. The treated wastewater of the city reaches Kolar to fill its lakes, which subsequently recharges the groundwater. One city's waste becomes another's resource in this process. The case of Kolar-Bengaluru is studied while asking critical questions of urban-rural planning with ecology as a main premise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change increasingly threatening people in uneven and disproportional ways, community-based solutions and interventions have become critical to ensure equitable, just, and inclusive climate action in cities. This paper examines community-based climate action in San Francisco (USA) through the lens of climate justice and intersectionality. Through a qualitative analysis of community-based organisations (CBOs) and their justice-oriented adaptation and mitigation efforts, our research examines the contributing factors and pathways by which CBO climate action leads to intersectional climate justice. Our analysis examines how CBOs 1) recognise and rectify historical and compounding vulnerabilities; 2) plan and act in ways that are people-centric and place-based; and 3) work collectively with organisations and government through alliances, coalitions, and participatory processes. We find that CBOs have the potential to work collectively to ensure processes are just and outcomes are equitable for those most at risk of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the motivations behind urban climate governance in eight Swedish municipalities. The study demonstrates that political consensus among, and willingness of, urban political leaders is of importance for motivating climate actions. Municipalities are moreover motivated by the accomplishments of other cities, national and subnational policies, and an increasing climate concern in society. In line with previous research, individual policy entrepreneurs have been important for local climate action; however, with the adoption of national and subnational policies, local climate policies are becoming increasingly institutionalised. Although some of the conclusions of the study confirm the significance of a polycentric governance approach, little relevance was attributed to citizen participation. The institutionalisation of urban climate governance deserves further attention so as to better understand how the dynamics of polycentric governance can be affected, and what implications this may have on climate policy-making process, and the engagement and support of urban residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amsterdam Rainproof emerged in 2014 to manage the risks posed by a novel environmental hazard threatening European cities: pluvial flooding, locally called cloudbursts. Amsterdam Rainproof's primary policy goal is to enhance Amsterdam's resilience to pluvial flooding. This paper examines the emergence of climate resilience and its execution on the ground in Amsterdam. In so doing, I draw on tools from economic geography – including the role of urban space and inter-scalar state restructuring – to contribute to debates in International Political Economy and the Environment (IPEE) on the relationship between resilience and neoliberal urbanism in global capitalism. I argue that there are inherent tensions between the rhetoric of sustainable urbanization put forth by Amsterdam Rainproof and its reality on the ground, namely that it ineffectively adapts urban spaces to increasing and unpredictable flooding while attempting to manage forms of capital accumulation at the urban scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly reviews recent and current approaches to the formulation and implementation of urban housing policies in towns and cities in the global South, with emphasis on local government-community participation and partnerships. It looks ahead into the implications of the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and tenets of climate change that will constitute the 'New Normal'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation is truly a global phenomenon. Starting at 39% in 1980, the urbanisation level rose to 52% in 2011. Ongoing rapid urbanisation has led to increase in urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Urban climate change risks have also increased with increase in climate-induced extreme weather events and more low-income urban dwellers living in climate sensitive locations. Despite increased emissions, including GHGs and heightened climate change vulnerability, climate mitigation and adaptation actions are rare in the cities of developing countries. Cities are overwhelmed with worsening congestion, air pollution, crime, waste management, and unemployment problems. Lack of resources and capacity constraints are other factors that discourage cities from embarking on climate change mitigation and adaptation pathways. Given the multitude of problems faced, there is simply no appetite for stand-alone urban climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and programmes. Urban mitigation and adaptation goals will have to be achieved as co-benefits of interventions targeted at solving pressing urban problems and challenges. The paper identifies administratively simple urban interventions that can help cities solve some of their pressing service delivery and urban environmental problems, while simultaneously mitigating rising urban GHG emissions and vulnerability to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The unrelenting threat of climate change and extreme weather events on human settlements has prompted urban planners and public policymakers to develop robust climate mitigation and adaptation strategies for their cities. As part of these measures, they may identify existing or proposed infrastructure that could serve residents during a public emergency (e.g. as shelters). One such candidate is the modern professional sports stadium, which has demonstrated its versatility over the past several years by serving as field hospitals, COVID-19 testing and mass vaccination sites, and municipal voting centers. In this commentary, we consider the essential contribution sports stadiums may make to cities and regions impacted by extreme weather and climate change. Specifically, we examine the utility of a publicly funded stadium as a shelter in response to large-scale disasters. As part of our analysis, we identify the structural, geographical, organizational, and logistical factors that impact the feasibility of this proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central focus of this paper is to highlight the ways in which path dependencies and increasing returns (network effects) serve to reinforce carbon lock-in in large-scale road transportation infrastructure projects. Breaking carbon lock-in requires drastic changes in the way we plan future transportation infrastructure projects, and documentary evidence presented here from the metropolitan regions of Copenhagen, Denmark and Portland, USA, indicate that there may be a discontinuity in the system of automobility (Urry, 2004), thereby increasing the likelihood that such drastic measures may in fact be successfully realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we reflect on the role of cities in responding to climate change over the two decades since the historic agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We find a growth in the scale and nature of municipal responses to climate change that has been one of the most significant features of the changing climate governance landscape over the past two decades. We suggest that this has not been a static or uniform process, and reflect on the changing nature of urban responses to climate change over the past two decades, the emergence of new politics of low-carbon urbanism, and challenges that lie ahead for research and policy as this agenda begins to take shape on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cities are facing considerable challenges resulting from imminent climate change impacts. Urban planning to minimise adverse impacts of climate change at the city level can establish a climate-resilient city. Mitigation strategies to reduce CO2 emissions would lead to a climate-friendly city. Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation into sustainable city planning should not be merely added as a single level of sustainable city planning, but requires a wide range of multi-level cooperation. Lijiang City has experienced climatic change during the last half century, and its CO2 emissions have increased faster than the GDP growth. Nearby glaciers on Yulong Snow Mountain have been retreating and losing mass since the early twentieth century. In this paper, we identify economic sectors that are vulnerable to climate change, including tourism, agriculture and water supply, and propose mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope with climate change in this tourism city. As energy use is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy has enormous CO2 reduction potential. Land use practices, a sectoral approach and public participation are all considered adaptive in climate planning. The proposals outlined are valuable as they provide an understanding of how to implement integrated climate planning and integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation into sustainable city planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities around the world are assuming responsibility for solving the climate crisis, and this bold endeavour calls for the co-creation of innovative green solutions. To be successful, co-creation requires the exercise of a particular type of co-creation leadership. To grasp the peculiarity of this leadership type, this article derives a set of co-creation leadership tasks based on the thorough analysis of the distinctive features of co-creation. The result is a list of no less than 15 carefully specified tasks that public managers can draw upon and learn to perform as part of their increasing efforts to use co-creation as a lever for green change. European cities are formulating ambitious climate mitigation goals and calling for the mobilization of societal resources through the co-creation of innovative solutions to help them achieve their goals. To improve the understanding of how to lead and manage the co-creation of the green shift, we distil the key characteristics of co-creation, using them to sketch the contours of a particular form of co-creation leadership. The findings are illustrated by empirical examples from the green shift in the cities of Copenhagen, Gothenburg, and Oslo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to anthropogenic climate change, many governments are adopting policies to reduce carbon emissions. In Canada, federal and provincial governments have implemented carbon pricing. One of the effects of putting a price on carbon is increasing the cost of using private vehicles, which may reduce mobility and increase the risk of social exclusion, especially in contexts where car dependence is high. In this article, we analyse how municipal governments in Canada frame the challenges of climate change and reducing emissions, and examine whether they link these challenges to issues of mobility and social exclusion. Focusing on policies from four of Canada's largest cities – Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver – we identify four main frames used in planning documents: "the Growing City", "If You Build It, They Will Come", "Better City for All", and "the Resilient City". The Growing City frame is used to support status quo urban development, with climate mitigation options (including sustainable travel modes) optionally included for more concerned residents. This is the dominant frame in Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Conversely, Vancouver uses the Resilient City frame to indicate that climate mitigation and adaption strategies are essential, and all citizens must be prepared for change. Vancouver presents changes to mobility as necessary for all, rather than an option for some. Social exclusion is not explicitly addressed in the frames, though it is presented as a reason to support building alternative transportation or more public spaces. Social exclusion receives little consideration as a potential consequence of climate mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A warmer climate leads to rising sea levels. Despite uncertainties about how rapid and substantial future sea-level rise (SLR) will be, society needs to prepare and adapt. This study examines the state of planning for future SLR in Sweden by surveying 33 coastal municipalities in southern Sweden and interviewing local, regional and national authorities with relevant accountability. The results reveal that there are considerable gaps in current planning for SLR. Almost one-third of municipalities lack guiding planning documents for SLR, and more than two-thirds do not discuss SLR beyond 2100. We argue that the prevailing uncertainty and ambiguity in assessments of future SLR is problematic within a traditional “predict-then-act” paradigm, and that robust approaches, such as scenario planning, can reduce many of these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Urban planning can contribute to reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change (including the expected increased occurrence of extreme weather events) in metropolitan areas. However, lack of urban governance and planning focusing on the metropolitan area as a whole, and decisions that do not take into account sufficiently the occurrence of such events, can substantially increase the cost of recovery from weather-related disasters. This policy study connects climate change adaptation, urban planning and metropolitan governance issues in the Hungarian context, focusing on the June 2010 floods in the town of Felsőzsolca, in the Miskolc metropolitan area. A review of key literature is provided on the impacts of climate change in cities and on governing climate action in metropolitan areas. Events leading up to and following the June 2010 Felsőzsolca floods are analysed from the perspective of urban planning. Based on evaluation criteria including effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, institutional capacity, transparency, political feasibility and time, four policy options are identified for climate action-related governance and planning in metropolitan areas, in the Hungarian context. Based on the above criteria, formalized horizontal partnerships between local authorities within the metropolitan area are chosen as the most favourable and currently most feasible policy option in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many US municipalities are engaged in climate change mitigation planning or efforts to reduce their communities' greenhouse gas emissions. However, most have adopted very few policies to implement their climate change mitigation goals, and many others are not pursuing climate change mitigation at all. This study examines municipalities' approaches to energy and climate issues and identifies the 'keys to success' that influence the extent to which they adopt climate change mitigation policies. Prior researchers have characterised climate change mitigation efforts as an example of multi-level governance, in which policies are formulated through a variety of networks and interactions between government actors and civil society. I find that municipalities that engage community interests and coordinate with neighbouring jurisdictions in their energy and climate planning processes are far more likely to adopt meaningful policies and conclude that such multi-level governance approaches are actually critical to the success of climate change mitigation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]