Climate Bridge: An International Perspective on How to Enact Climate Action at the Government Public Interface

Climate change is creating new challenges for spatial and environmental planning on both sides of the Atlantic. Planning and policy must balance moderating climate change impact from rising temperatures, extreme precipitation, and sea level rise with social equity and environmental justice. Climate Bridge compares New Jersey and the German Ruhr region to build an international perspective on how to enact climate action at the government-public interface. The book grew from fifteen years of collaboration between scholars in New Jersey and Germany through summer programs, a landscape architecture design studio, internships for Rutgers University students, and joint publications. Notably, settlement patterns and brownfield issues reveal similarities between the underserved in both regions. The first section compares international environmental planning approaches and outlines different approaches to common problems. The second section presents case studies that highlight adaptation strategies for uncertainties caused by climate change. Finally, the closing section reminds us of our dependence on ecological systems for physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Contributors to this landmark volume include planners, designers, scholars, public administrators, and decision-makers on both sides of the Atlantic. Together, the chapters bring interdisciplinary approaches and diverse perspectives to the environmental, economic, political, and social dimensions of planning and design in the context of climate change.
 

WOLFRAM HÖFER is a professor and the director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University.

FRANK GALLAGHER is an associate professor of professional practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University.

ARIANNA LINDBERG is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University.

ANGIE OBERG is chief climate officer in the Rutgers Office of Climate Action.

SEBASTIAN SCHLECHT is the founder of lala.ruhr and a lecturer at Technische Universität Dortmund.