Integration of urban science and urban climate adaptation research: opportunities to advance climate action

José Lobo, Rimjhim M. Aggarwal, Marina Alberti, Melissa Allen-Dumas, Luís M. A. Bettencourt, Christopher Boone, Christa Brelsford, Vanesa Castán Broto, Hallie Eakin, Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen, Sara Meerow, Celine D’Cruz, Aromar Revi, Debra C. Roberts, Michael E. Smith, Abigail York, Tao Lin, Xuemei Bai, William Solecki, Diane Pataki, Luís Bojorquez Tapia, Marcy Rockman, Marc Wolfram, Peter Schlosser & Nicolas Gauthier

npj Urban Sustain |

Abstract

There is a growing recognition that responding to climate change necessitates urban adaptation. We sketch a transdisciplinary research effort, arguing that actionable research on urban adaptation needs to recognize the nature of cities as social networks embedded in physical space. Given the pace, scale and socioeconomic outcomes of urbanization in the Global South, the specificities and history of its cities must be central to the study of how well-known agglomeration effects can facilitate adaptation. The proposed effort calls for the co-creation of knowledge involving scientists and stakeholders, especially those historically excluded from the design and implementation of urban development policies.

Cite this article

Lobo, J., Aggarwal, R. M., Alberti, M., Allen-Dumas, M., Bettencourt, L. M., Boone, C., Tapia, Luis Bojorquez … & Gauthier, N. Integration of urban science and urban climate adaptation research: opportunities to advance climate action. npj Urban Sustain 3, 32 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-023-00113-0