As cities increasingly commit to achieving carbon neutrality, they engage in greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories to measure their emissions. These inventories are typically guided by international frameworks, such as the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), and primarily rely on production-based accounting (PBCA). This approach focuses on emissions...
In addressing the impacts and consequences of climate change, there is often a socio-political narrative—particularly at the local level—that focuses on immediate responses and short-term futures. This narrative prioritizes the restoration or maintenance of the pre-event status quo, driven by the desires of affected populations and economic stakeholders, as well as the alignment with political...
Rural coastal communities are highly dependent on natural resources, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This is especially evident in the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA), a hotspot for accelerated climate impacts, including rising sea levels, coastal and inland flooding, and groundwater salinization. These environmental pressures threaten local agriculture,...
Background
Amidst intensifying climate change, urban regions around the globe are experiencing more frequent and severe extreme weather events. In particular, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves have risen substantially, with the urban heat island effect further exacerbating extreme heat conditions. This escalation contributes to increasing mortality and morbidity, creating a major...
As cities continue to face the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, understanding the spatial variability of urban air quality is essential for fostering sustainable and resilient development. Air pollution, a critical determinant of public health and environmental well-being, is especially problematic in high-density urban environments where complex interactions between...
Mega projects, including large-scale industrial zones, bridges, airports, and transportation infrastructure, represent significant investments that profoundly alter land use patterns and pose substantial risks to ecosystems. Within the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those addressing "life on land" and "climate action," the social and environmental...
Urban forms change as a result of economic growth and transformations aimed at maximizing economic and social benefits. In this context, the role and importance of cities that incorporate the concept of sustainable development as practical solutions to enhance the social and physical value of regions have been emphasized. As interest in sustainable and carbon-neutral cities grows due to the...
Biophilia refers to the innate connection and intrinsic tendency of humans toward nature. While biophilia has been a focus of scientists and design communities for several decades, it is a concept that has been intuitively recognized by humanity since its existence. The integration of biophilia into urban design, known as biophilic urbanism, prioritizes nature and the human-nature interaction...
Comprehensive urban masterplans, which regulate the growth and development of entire towns and cities, are a central arena for enacting climate-related policies, such as emissions reduction and adaptation. However, the climate-related knowledge that goes into these plans is understudied.
Knowledge in planning, in general, has been extensively researched. This includes, on the one hand,...
The ongoing impacts of climate change have led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, which pose significant threats to local communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. In response to these challenges, this research examines flood risk awareness among residents and evaluates the effectiveness of authorities’ actions during flood crises....
This study addresses the critical need to balance economic development with environmental sustainability, focusing on the coordination between capital flows and carbon emissions in the economically developed Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from the perspective of environmental justice. By investigating the coupling mechanisms between resource allocation and carbon emissions, the research...
In today's world, the rapidly increasing urban population and the corresponding rise in energy demand have made optimizing energy consumption in buildings a critical issue for urban planners and policymakers. Traditional energy consumption prediction models typically focus on static building features and environmental factors, yet they may not fully capture the influence of population density...
For thousands of years, coastal areas have been shaped and their resources effectively utilized by humans. Today, coastal areas face demands for industrial, commercial, and recreational use (Kay & Alder, 1999; Akyarlı, 2002). The processes of coastal areas have been shaped by different management approaches over time, with notable periodic differences evident in the coastal management...
The planetary crisis, driven by the accelerating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, places coastal areas at the forefront of a global challenge. These transitional spaces between land and sea are home to a significant proportion of the world’s population, rich cultural heritage, and essential ecosystems. Yet, they face escalating pressures from hazards such as sea-level...
Promoting gender equality and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy are two pivotal components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations. Specifically, SDG7 calls for reducing dependence on biomass materials (carbon-based fuel like wood, leaves, straw, cow dung, coal, etc.) as the main source of cooking fuel. Energy poverty is considered...
The growing recognition of the value of nature in addressing current environmental challenges calls for widespread consideration in spatial planning and decision-making processes. Of the many ecosystem services (ES) that nature can provide, some can directly influence the reduction of extreme events severity and, therefore, help adaptation to the impacts of climate change, particularly in...
Carbon trading markets aim to balance greenhouse gas emissions of the countries by channeling climate finance from developed countries to developing ones by helping them mitigate climate change impacts and promote sustainable development. Carbon offsetting was introduced by the Kyoto Protocol, later expanded through market forces and United Nations’ initiatives in a multi-layered structure...
Climate change and urbanization are intensifying heat stress risks, threatening public health and liveability (Böcker & Thorsson, 2014; Ebi et al., 2021; IPCC, 2022). Rising temperatures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including those with limited mobility, low incomes, or health conditions (Ellena, Breil, & Soriani, 2020; Gronlund, 2014; Reid et al., 2009; Voelkel et al.,...
Landscape assessment tools are fundamental to the Environmental Assessment framework (EIA and SIA). They enable a comprehensive evaluation of aesthetic, cultural, and ecological dimensions during the planning and implementation of plans and projects (Geneletti, 2011). The recent adoption of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), a crucial regulatory measure aimed at reversing ecosystem degradation...
Past studies have raised concerns about the vulnerability of children to air pollution because of the characteristics of the places where they live and go to school (Chaix et al., 2006; König, 2024; Lim et al., 2017). Alongside these concerns, the past few decades have witnessed a substantial amount of research aimed at (i) understanding the factors associated with outdoor air pollution in...
Sea level rise and the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as storms and related storm surges, driven by climatic change, will increase such risks to coastal populations (IPCC, 2022). In the UK alone 82,000 properties are at risk of loss by the end of the century, with 2,200 of those by 2040 according to the UK’s latest climate change risk assessment. There are...
Climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and the increasing intensity of storms and cyclones pose growing risks to Australia’s lifestyle, environment, and economy. Queensland is one of the most vulnerable states to the coastal climate change impacts in Australia with the highest number of residential and light industrial buildings and the greatest value of existing road infrastructure...
Up until recently, significant studies have been published on the living conditions of migrants in Greece, notably in state-run camps (Tazzioli 2024), rented apartments from UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) programs (Kourachanis, 2022) and self-managed housing squats (Tsavdaroglou and Kaika 2022). However, the issue of energy in relation to migrants’ housing appears to...
The dual challenges of climate change and environmental degradation place immense pressure on urban environments, making it critical to integrate carbon-neutral strategies into the early stages of planning and design. This study focuses on campus renewal, using the Xi’an East Station Hub Core Area as a pilot to explore innovative approaches for low-carbon, climate-resilient urban design. By...
The transition to a climate-neutral building stock by 2045 is a pressing objective for the architectural and construction sectors. This research examines the decision-making processes surrounding the renovation, roof extension, and potential demolition of post-war residential buildings in Germany, with a focus on the architect’s role in integrating environmental and climate considerations into...
Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is widely recognised as an effective tool to address pressing environmental challenges. Successful UGI implementation depends on effective collaboration between city administrations and civil society, fostering democratic decision-making, aligning grassroots initiatives with municipal strategies, improving resource distribution, and ensuring more...
Adapting urban planning practices to mitigate and respond to the impacts of climate change is an urgent global challenge. In Finland, urban typologies and planning practices significantly influence the amount and structure of residential greenery (Leppänen et al., 2024). For instance, single-family housing areas, which dominate urban land use in many Finnish regions, present unique...
As the global community intensifies efforts to mitigate climate change, the role of urban areas in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become increasingly critical. This paper explores the potential of university campuses to serve as decentralized energy systems that contribute to GHG reduction. Campuses, with their diverse energy demands and capacity for innovation, present unique...
Cities are a major source of carbon emissions, and in a time of frequent extreme weather, how to realize sustainable urban development through emission reduction and sink enhancement has a bearing on the fate of mankind globally. Urban blue-green infrastructures have outstanding carbon sink benefits and potentials and are the baseline ecological carriers for carbon sequestration and sink...
In this study, a methodological approach that aims to implement climate neutrality through spatial planning policies is defined and applied. The measure of carbon sequestration (CS) is taken as a reference to estimate the status and evolutionary dynamics of this phenomenon, analyzed and evaluated as associated with the supply of certain types of ecosystem services (ESs), in relation to the...
Increasing climate impacts motivate migration across the globe (United Nations Network on Migration 2024). Although climate-induced migration is projected to impact US communities, literature on the numbers, locational choices of the movers, and implications for receiving communities is scarce. This study, focuses on recent population mobility towards rural areas in Northeast (NE) Region in...
This contribution explores innovative planning strategies, still largely underexplored in the Mediterranean context, aimed at rebalancing and rethinking the interactions between anthropic systems and ecological processes along the coastline. The Mediterranean coast presents a complex composition of diverse coastal typologies, characterized by varying degrees of human occupation and a wide...
The intensifying global warming, coupled with urban heat island phenomena, have brought a wide range of health issues related to humid heat exposure, particularly in densely populated urban areas of tropical and subtropical regions (Zhang et al., 2023). Our prior research has demonstrated that humid heat exposure significantly jeopardizes adolescents’ sleep health, with wet bulb temperatures...
Mountain areas represent a key domain where scientific literature recognizes emerging cultural and settlement trends that attribute centrality to mountains as privileged sites for experimenting with alternative lifestyles, in contrast to those commonly characterizing lowland urban contexts (Dematteis, 2020). Moreover, at the European level, mountains have been acknowledged for their economic,...
Addressing climate governance in Brazil presents a significant challenge due to institutional and political barriers that hinder the implementation of adaptation projects. These challenges include a lack of institutional capacity at the local level and difficulties in integrating sectoral policies. In the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (RJMA), which comprises 22 municipalities, only two have...
Global warming has become one of the major challenges facing the world today, and the effective control of carbon emissions as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions is particularly critical.As a major country in charge, the Chinese government proposed at the 75th United Nations General Assembly that carbon dioxide emissions should aim to peak by 2030 and strive to achieve carbon...
As large cities grow in size and density, they come under increasing pressure for space. Many under-viaducts spaces (UVSs) are being converted into open-air sports fields, but such spaces can cause air and noise problems for people playing sports. There is a lack of research on the pollution of the UVS. In order to finely analyse the environmental pollution in the UVS, the article takes an...
High-tech development zones (HTDZs) play a critical role in driving economic growth and technological innovation, but their rapid development also poses significant challenges to regional carbon emissions. This study focuses on 168 HTDZs in China, aiming to explore the dynamic relationship between the expansion of development scales and regional carbon emissions. The research seeks to address...
Climate change and urban planning exhibit a strong interplay. Achieving sustainability goals critically depends on the integration of climate action plans developed at both national and local scales into spatial plans. Having become a party to the Kyoto Protocol (2009) and the Paris Agreement (2021), Türkiye has maintained its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in line with...
Meryem CAĞIŞ, Doç. Dr. Nilgün Çolpan ERKAN*
* Graduate Student, Yıldız Technical Universit, Department of City and Regional Planning
cagismeryem@gmail.com, 05452899179, ORCID. 0000-0002-7581-7774
** Assoc. Dr. Thesis Advisor, Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning
nilerkan@yildiz.edu.tr, 05322732603, ORCID....
This paper revisits the class question in the context of socio-ecological transformations. More specifically, it examines how socio-spatial analysis understood as a method can better respond to both social and ecological conditions. Socio-spatial methods have been widely applied in the redesign of public spaces. They are often used as a basis for competitions, planning processes, and...
In the context of the increasingly severe global environmental crisis, where the urban heat island effect is seriously eroding the ecological health of cities and threatening human well-being, it is extremely urgent to deeply explore the cooling mechanism of urban green spaces. (Farshid, 2019; Lin, 2021). Urban green spaces are crucial for alleviating urban overheating and play a vital role in...
Children are among the most affected yet least involved groups in urban flood resilience planning, particularly in coastal areas facing increasing risks due to climate change. In Indonesia, cities like Semarang, Jakarta, Demak, and Pekalongan are at the forefront of these challenges. Many children in these areas live in informal settlements where frequent flooding disrupts their daily lives....
The global climate crisis exacerbates local environmental challenges, such as human losses, negative health impacts, and loss of biodiversity. Cities in particular are highly prone to the negative impacts of a warmer climate. While cities are highly attractive to individuals, they lack of green and blue spaces, and often have high levels of social vulnerability. In response to these...
Over the past decades, cities have faced increasing environmental, social, and economic challenges, which are complex to resolve not only due to its complexity but also because of the intricate chain of causes and consequences among phenomena (Hardoy and Ruete, 2013). Additionally, the adaptation of densely populated urban areas with consolidated urban fabric poses significant constraints for...
Transformative change of the local urban energy system towards renewable energy consumption and energy efficiency is needed to diminish urban GHG emissions and pave the way towards climate-neutral cities. To secure carbon neutrality in cities, neighbourhoods offer critical sites for local action for climate mitigation and decarbonisation policies. An emerging body of literature on...
Climate adaptation is becoming increasingly critical in urban spatial planning as extreme weather events necessitate climate-adaptive measures. Effective planning relies on climate information to provide insight in potential climate impacts and/or the effectiveness of proposed adaptive measures. Such information is often provided by ‘climate services,’ such as maps or decision support tools,...
Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges facing cities today, posing significant risks to communities and the built environment. In response, many cities worldwide have begun to implement adaptation policies aimed at helping communities and urban systems enhance their resilience. This paper raises an important question: how fairly are adaptation policies and their practical measures...
Europe is recognised as the fastest-warming continent where the temperatures are rising twice compared to the global average rate and the summer of 2024 was the hottest (C3S, 2024) causing a negative impact on people´s health, city functions, nature and economy (Aboulnaga et al., 2024; Tong et al., 2021). Thus, areas with urban heat islands (UHI), as the most vulnerable areas to heat waves in...
Co-producing knowledge with urban communities within a community-engaged research framework is crucial for developing effective indicators and strategies to achieve just urban transitions, which is the fusion of climate action and justice concerns at the urban scale. While the concepts of co-production and actionable knowledge are prevalent in sustainability discourse, their intersection with...
Research Background
Urban and regional carbon neutrality is fundamentally a sustainability issue (Park, 2023). Carbon neutrality cannot be deemed successful if it results in economic decline or diminished social equity. Fossil fuel-based energy systems are inherently incompatible with growth models that promote sustainable development. Consequently, considerable attention has been devoted to...
The transition to clean energy systems is key to meeting carbon neutralisation targets. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) emerged to promote local energy autonomy and flexibility. PEDs present an energy transition roadmap multifaceted with social, spatial, and technical aspects. Social aspects include the identification of stakeholders and initiating community collaboration. Establishing energy...
Climate change is one of the most significant challenges facing humanity on a global scale. Addressing environmental degradation and sustainability challenges requires not only the efforts of governments and large corporations but also the active participation of individuals and communities in developing innovative solutions. This paper presents findings from GreenHack, a student hackathon...
The domestic use of natural gas for heating is the prevalent option in the Netherlands. However, heat pumps will be mandatory in most Dutch households by 2026. Therefore, insights are needed in how citizens perceive this technology, by taking into account various societal, technological, economic, environmental, and political aspects. Our research offers a systematic investigation of the...
