Cities and Climate Change

Cities concentrate wealth, people and productivity while consuming much of the world's energy and producing much of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. This concentration makes cities and their populations more at risk to natural disasters and to long-term changes in climate, yet cities also offer vast opportunities to respond to these challenges. Changes in migration, land use, and spatial development will increase vulnerability, especially in developing countries, and rising sea levels will affect millions of people living in coastal cities. Adaptation, mitigation, and increased resilience to climate change are therefore imperative for cities.

The links between cities and climate change were the subject of the 5th Urban Research Symposium held in Marseille, France, in June 2009. The eight papers selected and updated for Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an Urgent Agenda reflect the core of the analytical discussion and policy implications discussed at the symposium, combining comprehensive analysis and theoretical insights with examples of best practices from around the world. These include a framework to include aspects of poverty in the discussion of cities and climate change; new perspectives on the knowledge and measurement of climate change, urban infrastructure, institutions and governance, and economic and social issues; and specific case studies comparing experiences of cities in both industrialized and developing countries. This book also includes a summary discussion of the main research themes and abstracts of additional selected papers from the symposium.