To make cities climate resilient requires efficient urban planning

Cities consume around 70 per cent of global energy and generate a comparable amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in both the short and long term, contributing to climate change.

As much as half of the global population is living in urban or suburban areas. By 2050, this will increase to two-thirds, as 1.4 million people a week continue to move into urban areas. Most growth (90 per cent) is taking place in the developing world (Asian countries) where it is often poorly planned and managed.

Cities consume around 70 per cent of global energy and generate a comparable amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in both the short and long term, contributing to climate change.

Further, these poorly planned cities are vulnerable to extreme climate events and climate change-related phenomena. Cities can be divided into global megacities, mature cities and emerging cities.

This latter group provides the greatest opportunity for bringing about a significant reduction in projected GHG emissions while maintaining strong growth.

Emerging cities, like Pune and Hyderabad, India and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, are rapidly growing, mid-sized cities that are expected to produce over 25 per cent of global income growth – coupled with one-third of new GHG emissions – over the coming two decades.

Planning for climate resilience can significantly reduce the social and environmental effects of urban growth. Building urban resilience includes measures of mitigation (reducing GHG emissions), adaptation and reducing the risk of climate-related disasters.

Resilience can best be understood through a dynamic approach, which recognizes the complexity of rapidly growing urban areas and the uncertainty associated with climate change.

It is achieved by actions that build on each other over time and are guided by three questions: How do the city's urban systems work? How will climate change impact these systems directly or indirectly? Who is most vulnerable to these impacts?

APPROACHES OR TOOLS OF URBAN PLANNING FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE CITIES

There are a number of urban planning approaches to decrease the emissions and boost the climate resilience of growing cities. One, the 5C Model, is built on five pillars – compact urban growth, connected infrastructure, coordinated governance, connected/ integrated land use planning and coordinated urban development planning.

Compact Growth - Improving resource productivity (the efficiency of urban infrastructure and services):

• This pillar focuses on cost-effective investments in more efficient vehicles, transport systems, buildings and small-scale renewable resources. Investments have a short payback period and can be made in the building sector (improving insulation design, lighting technologies and appliances), the transport sector (more efficient vehicles, cleaner fuels and public transport initiatives) and waste management (better recycling, landfill gas capture and better composting). 

Connected Infrastructure: Well-planned urban development and increased productivity are key drivers of both growth and climate goals that require the collaboration of national and regional governments and local leaders.

Approaches include the development of national urbanisation strategies, a special national financing vehicle to support cities becoming more compact, connected and coordinated, and redirecting existing infrastructure funding towards more climate-resilient urban infrastructure development. 

Coordinated Governance - Stronger policies and institutions: Productive and climate-resilient cities require fundamental changes in policies and in the institutions that govern and service them. Changes need to include:

• Strictly enforcement of development control & regulations
• Adherence of environment laws
• Reforms to strategic planning and regulations across all levels of government
• Fuel subsidy reform and disincentives to fossil-fuelled vehicle use
• Placing a higher price on land than on buildings
• New means of generating funds for smarter urban infrastructure and technology
• More effective and accountable institutions in cities

A set of policies, regulations, and administrative practices that Government agencies can adopt to help cities become more resilient/able to recover quickly from natural disasters while at the same time reducing future risk in the face of climate change. 

Concept of Integrated Land use Planning - Transport oriented development (TOD): Land management encompasses all activities associated with the management of land and natural resources that are required to achieve sustainable development. The concept of land includes properties and natural resources and thereby encompasses the total natural and build environment

Transport oriented development planning reduces origin – destination trip length and consumption of fuel by motor vehicles. As a result, greenhouse gas emission reduces.

It encourages efficient use of connectivity and optimum utilisation of land. Climate resilient city development planning can achieved by integrated land use planning and transport oriented development.

Nowadays the trend of transport oriented development is prevailing in the all over the world and it is also practiced in Asian countries also. Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor (DMIC) is a livid example in India and now it is practiced in most of urban development planning in the country.

Integration of transport in land use planning will be fundamental to achieving climate resilience cities. Well-planned settlements avoid the need for unnecessary trips - and carbon - in the first place, and lead to maximal use of low-carbon modes of travel such as public transport, walking and cycling.

Coordinated Urban Development Planning: Water shad management, conservation of heritage & ecology and disaster management planning should be incorporated in urban development planning.

These are the very crucial aspect to mitigate the adverse effect of development on environment and to plan climate resilience city. Water shad management helps to identify the flooding areas in the city and to mitigate its impact in the especially residential areas.

For example, few residential areas in Ambala city is planned/ proposed in the floodplain of Tangri river. That’s why in rainy season, there is always a possibility of flooding in these areas.

Like this preparing development plans, planners must be more sensitive to heritage site and eco-system of the urban environment. Disaster management plans must be incorporated in the process of urban development planning to disaster risk reduction and to boost climate resilience cities.

Guwahati – An Example of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

Guwahati is a living example of climate change in India. Following changes are observed in the city:

• Conversion of sparse built-up into dense built-up
• Emergence of pockets of sparse built-up
• Northern part of the river has emerged as a new built-up in year 2010.
• Decrease in extent of dense forest and conversion of dense to sparse forest
• Encroachment of significant natural features like natural wetlands (Bils), watershed areas and hills.
• Hill cutting in fragile hilly areas which are not fit for development.
• Unplanned and unregulated expansion of the city, especially on hills has added to the vulnerability of the city. 90 per cent of the landslides occur in these areas

Due to these changes, the city of Guwahati shows an increase of about 1.2° in maximum and about 1.3° in minimum temperature. 

Proposed Disaster Risk Reduction for Guwahati: The severe impact of the climate change can be mitigated by adopting proposed 5C model in urban development planning practices.

Conclusion: 

In general, urban planning is related to planning of physical and socio-economic aspect of the city and it directs growth of the city. Nowadays climate resilience is also finding a due recognition in urban planning process for sustainable urban development.

In Asian cities too, approaches of urban planning such as transport oriented development (TOD), coordinated urban development planning, compact growth & integrated infrastructure are adopted to practice urban development planning to sustainable urban development and to boost climate resilience approach to city development.

To conclude, by adopting these urban planning/land use planning practices, strictly enforcement of development control & regulation and environment laws, cities can be developed climate resilience and severe impact of the climate change can be mitigated at some extent.