Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Space For Adapting: Reconciling Adaptation And Mitigation In Local Climate Change Plans, Elisabeth M. Hamin, Nicole Gurran

Elisabeth M. Hamin

Amid the complexity of actually planning for adaptation and mitigation in cities, spatial form matters. Denser urban environments generally have lower per capita emissions because they enable transit and more efficient heating. At the same time, a larger green infrastructure can be beneficial to adaptation, as it provides room for urban greening, storm and flood water management, and treatment of other ill-effects of climate change. City plans need to reconcile both goals to be fully climate resilient, but to date, there has not been an empirical evaluation on whether the adaptation policies cities are choosing create conflict with mitigative goals. …