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Open AccessArticle
Urban Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: A Review at the Crossroads of Research and Practice
by
Scira Menoni
Scira Menoni
Dipartimento di Architettura, Ingegneria delle Costruzioni e Ambiente Costruito, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 20133 Milan, Italy
Sustainability 2025, 17(20), 9092; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17209092 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 July 2025
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Revised: 18 September 2025
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Accepted: 25 September 2025
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Published: 14 October 2025
Abstract
This review seeks to understand what urban planning and management can do to reduce disaster risk and help cities adapt to the impacts of climate change. To achieve this, it examines various streams of the literature, as the topic sits at the intersection of several distinct but relevant disciplinary fields. These include urban planning in hazardous areas, recovery planning, disaster risk reduction (an umbrella term encompassing disciplines from engineering to geography and sociology), and, more recently, climate change adaptation. To navigate this vast body of knowledge, a conceptual framework is proposed to guide the selection of the relevant literature, and the strategy for this selection is detailed in the methodological section. This review adopts elements of both critical and theoretical approaches: it does not aim to be comprehensive or to systematically search each disciplinary domain addressed. While acknowledging the limitations and potential biases in the selection of articles and books, the review reflects an evolution in the discourse on urban planning for resilience. The discussion explores how the concept of resilience has emerged as a valuable bridge between disaster risk reduction, sustainability, and climate change adaptation—especially as cities face increasing exposure and vulnerability to stresses that are now more frequently compounded, multi-hazard, and cascading. The conclusion outlines the gaps and challenges that researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to address moving forward.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Menoni, S.
Urban Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: A Review at the Crossroads of Research and Practice. Sustainability 2025, 17, 9092.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17209092
AMA Style
Menoni S.
Urban Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: A Review at the Crossroads of Research and Practice. Sustainability. 2025; 17(20):9092.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17209092
Chicago/Turabian Style
Menoni, Scira.
2025. "Urban Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: A Review at the Crossroads of Research and Practice" Sustainability 17, no. 20: 9092.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17209092
APA Style
Menoni, S.
(2025). Urban Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: A Review at the Crossroads of Research and Practice. Sustainability, 17(20), 9092.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17209092
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