This book provides an overview of the large and interdisciplinary literature on the substance and process of urban climate change planning and design, using the most important articles from the last 15 years to engage readers in understanding problems and finding solutions to this increasingly critical issue. The Reader’s particular focus is how the impacts of climate change can be addressed in urban and suburban environments—what actions can be taken, as well as the need for and the process of climate planning. Both reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as adapting to future climate are explored. Many of the emerging best practices in this field involve improving the green infrastructure of the city and region—providing better on-site stormwater management, more urban greening to address excess heat, zoning for regional patterns of open space and public transportation corridors, and similar actions. These actions may also improve current public health and livability in cities, bringing benefits now and into the future. This Reader is innovative in bringing climate adaptation and green infrastructure together, encouraging a more hopeful perspective on the great challenge of climate change by exploring both the problems of climate change and local solutions.
This open access book introduces the function, implementation and governance of green infrastructure in Japan and other countries where lands are geologically fragile and climatologically susceptible to climate change. It proposes green infrastructure as an adaptation strategy for climate change and biodiversity conservation. In the face of climate change, dams, levees and floodways built as disaster prevention facilities do not sufficiently function against extraordinary events such as mega-floods and tsunami disasters. To prevent those disasters and loss of biodiversity in various ecosystems, we should shift from conventional hard measures to more adaptive strategies using various functions that natural and semi-natural ecosystems provide. Green infrastructure is an interconnected network of waterways, wetlands, woodlands, wildlife habitats and other natural areas that support native species, maintain natural ecological processes, sustain air and water resources and contribute to the health and quality of life for communities and people. Green infrastructure has mainly been discussed from adaptation strategy perspectives in cities and urban areas. However, to protect cities, which are generally situated at downstream lower elevations, we explore the preservation and restoration of forests at headwater basins and wetlands along rivers from a catchment perspective. In addition, the quantitative examination of flood risk, biodiversity, and social-economic benefits described in this book brings new perspectives to the discussion. The aim of this book is to accelerate the transformative changes from gray-based adaptation strategies to green- or hybrid-based strategies to adapt to climate change. The book provides essential information on the structure, function, and maintenance of green infrastructure for scientists, university students, government officers, and practitioners.
This open access book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society. The expert contributions present recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in global urban areas. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This book offers new research on urban policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water resources sustainably. The author argues that urban water managers have traditionally relied on grey infrastructural solutions to mitigate risks with numerous economic and environmental consequences. Brears explores the role urban water managers have in implementing blue-green infrastructure to reduce ecological damage and mitigate risk. The case studies in this book illustrate how cities, of differing climates, lifestyles and income-levels, have implemented policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water, wastewater and stormwater sustainably to reduce environmental degradation and enhance resilience to climate change. This new research on urban policy innovations that promote the application of blue-green infrastructure in managing water resources sustainably will be of interest to those working on water conservation and policy.
According to the United Nations, three out of five people will be living in cities worldwide by the year 2030. The United States continues to experience urbanization with its vast urban corridors on the east and west coasts. Although urban weather is driven by large synoptic and meso-scale features, weather events unique to the urban environment arise from the characteristics of the typical urban setting, such as large areas covered by buildings of a variety of heights; paved streets and parking areas; means to supply electricity, natural gas, water, and raw materials; and generation of waste heat and materials. Urban Meteorology: Forecasting, Monitoring, and Meeting Users' Needs is based largely on the information provided at a Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate community workshop. This book describes the needs for end user communities, focusing in particular on needs that are not being met by current urban-level forecasting and monitoring. Urban Meteorology also describes current and emerging meteorological forecasting and monitoring capabilities that have had and will likely have the most impact on urban areas, some of which are not being utilized by the relevant end user communities. Urban Meteorology explains that users of urban meteorological information need high-quality information available in a wide variety of formats that foster its use and within time constraints set by users' decision processes. By advancing the science and technology related to urban meteorology with input from key end user communities, urban meteorologists can better meet the needs of diverse end users. To continue the advancement within the field of urban meteorology, there are both short-term needs-which might be addressed with small investments but promise large, quick returns-as well as future challenges that could require significant efforts and investments.
This book aims to cover most subject areas of green infrastructure such as components, multi-functionality, and integration to build environment, contribution to urban sustainability, sustainable and smart city development, urban climate change nexus, green buildings and rating systems, economic assessment, and quantification of green infrastructure. The impending climate crisis, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the importance of green infrastructure in and around cities, prompting a call for more functional and sustainable urban planning and design. A number of recent studies have shown that green infrastructure provides a wide range of ecosystem functions and services critical to human well-being and urban sustainability, which is especially important during climatic and health crises. In this book, the authors emphasize the importance of existing green infrastructure in coping with climate change-induced stresses, such as increasing climate variability and extreme temperature and precipitation events, as well as contributing to urban dwellers' physical and mental health. Green infrastructure, in both cases, plays a significant role in providing urban areas with resilience capacity, which is critical to urban sustainability. The authors also emphasize the importance of expanding and improving green infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas, through integrative and participatory processes. Appropriate integration of green-gray infrastructure and development of climate resilient cities is the core theme of this publication. Further, it emphasizes sustainable development which has become an imperative requirement to the world to move fore and climate change-built environment nexus, the most critical global crisis. Though several books were published globally on the green infrastructure and urban resilience individually, books are rarely published combining both disciplines. This book identifies and addresses the gap through comprehensively discussing on both interlinked areas which is essential for the sustainable urban development. Further, it explores on urban climate resilience, urban sprawl, urbanization, resilience drivers, essentials of city resilience, policy implications, challenges, and future perspectives. This book is a useful fundamental guide in practical applications of green infrastructure in built environment in sustainability context. Further, it enlightens on the significance of transforming the conventional building construction trend to sustainable urban planning designs and building development, exploring on the strategic pathway on building urban climate resilience while signifying the importance of healthy built environment through discussing on the nexus between climate change and built environment.
This book describes the risks, impacts, measures, actions and adaptation policies that have developed globally as a result of the severe impacts of global climate change. In-depth chapters focus on climate change assessment (CCA) in terms of vulnerabilities and reflection on the built environment and measures and actions for infrastructure and urban areas. Adaptation actions specific to developing countries such as Egypt are presented and illustrated. Global Climate change adaptation projects (CCAPs) in developing countries, in terms of their targets and performance, are presented and compared with those existing CCAPs in Egypt to draw learned lessons. Climate change scenarios 2080 using simulations are portrayed and discussed with emphasis on a case-study model from existing social housing projects in hot-arid urban areas in Cairo; in an effort to put forward an assessment and evaluation of current CCA techniques. This book helps researchers realize the global impacts of climate change on the built environment and economic sectors, and enhances their understanding of current climate change measures, actions, policies, projects and scenarios. Reviews and illustrates the impact of global climate change risks; Provides an understanding of global climate change risks in seven continents; Illustrates policies and action plans implemented at the global level and developing countries' level; Discusses climate change assessment and vulnerabilities with emphasis on urban areas; Presents measures and action plans to mitigate climate change scenarios by 2080.
This book describes the urgent challenge faced by cities worldwide to become resilient to climate change impacts. This challenge goes further than the ability to resist the impacts of extreme weather conditions. Coping with climate impacts and the ability to recover from them are equally important, as well as the capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change and the ability to transform the entire urban system. The book explores how the resilience journey for coastal cities in particular encompasses using scientific knowledge but also the knowledge of citizens and practitioners. Measures and strategies on different scales are needed, from national scale all the way down to neighbourhood, street level and building level. Representing the holistic nature of climate resilience, this collection contains unique insights from leading scientists and practitioners in areas of expertise such as engineering, social sciences and urban design. It will be a valuable resource for scholars, students, practitioners and policy makers interested in the development of resilient and sustainable urban environments.
With more than half of the world's population now living in urban areas, it is vitally important that towns and cities are healthy places to live. The principal aim of this book is to synthesize the disparate literature on the use of vegetation in the built environment and its multifunctional benefits to humans. The author reviews issues such as: contact with wildlife and its immediate and long-term effects on psychological and physical wellbeing; the role of vegetation in removing health-damaging pollutants from the air; green roofs and green walls, which provide insulation, reduce energy use and decrease the carbon footprint of buildings; and structural vegetation such as street trees, providing shading and air circulation whilst also helping to stop flash-floods through surface drainage. Examples are used throughout to illustrate the practical use of vegetation to improve the urban environment and deliver ecosystem services. Whilst the underlying theme is the value of biodiversity, the emphasis is less on existing high-value green spaces (such as nature reserves, parks and gardens), than on the sealed surfaces of urban areas (building surfaces, roads, car parks, plazas, etc.). The book shows how these, and the spaces they encapsulate, can be modified to meet current and future environmental challenges including climate change. The value of existing green space is also covered to provide a comprehensive textbook of international relevance.
