Urban Adaptation to Heat and Climate Change

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 743

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Land Economics, National Chengchi University, Taipei 11605, Taiwan
Interests: green building; urban heat island; sustainable cities; urban and regional planning

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: outdoor thermal comfort; urban heat island; human biometeorology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the frequency and intensity of urban heatwaves and climate-related hazards continue to rise, cities across the globe face mounting challenges in safeguarding public health, maintaining livability, and achieving long-term resilience. This Special Issue invites the submission of original research, case studies, and review articles that explore multidisciplinary approaches to urban adaptation in the context of heat stress and broader climate change impacts.

Focus

This Issue centers on understanding how urban systems respond and adapt to increasing heat and climate variability. We welcome studies that examine urban heat island (UHI) effects, climate-sensitive urban design, and the integration of mitigation and adaptation strategies in urban policy and planning.

Scope

We encourage contributions on a wide range of topics, including—but not limited to—nature-based solutions and green infrastructure; passive cooling strategies and thermal comfort modeling; green and smart building technologies; land use patterns and urban morphology; social vulnerability, equity, and environmental justice in heat adaptation; and the application of digital tools (e.g., AI, remote sensing, digital twins) for monitoring, forecasting, and managing urban heat risks. Studies highlighting the co-benefits of climate-resilient and low-carbon urban development are particularly welcome.

Purpose

This Special Issue aims to advance a scientific and practical understanding of sustainable and equitable urban adaptation. It provides a platform for promoting interdisciplinary dialog among urban planners, climatologists, environmental engineers, data scientists, and policymakers. Ultimately, it seeks to support evidence-based decision-making and contribute to the development of more climate-resilient and inclusive urban environments worldwide.

Prof. Dr. Chen-Yi Sun
Prof. Dr. Tzu-Ping Lin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban heat island (UHI)
  • climate adaptation
  • thermal comfort
  • nature-based solutions
  • green infrastructure
  • climate-resilient urban design
  • environmental justice
  • smart cities and digital tools
  • low-carbon urban development
  • urban climate modeling

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

32 pages, 1052 KB  
Article
Transit-Oriented Development Urban Spatial Forms and Typhoon Resilience in Taipei: A Dynamic Analytic Network Process Evaluation
by Chia-Nung Li, Yi-Kai Hsieh and Chien-Wen Lo
Atmosphere 2025, 16(10), 1178; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16101178 - 13 Oct 2025
Viewed by 494
Abstract
Taipei’s metropolitan region faces frequent typhoon impacts that test its urban resilience. This study examines the relationship between Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) urban spatial forms and Taipei’s resilience against typhoons, considering both physical urban morphology and planning factors. We apply a Dynamic Analytic Network [...] Read more.
Taipei’s metropolitan region faces frequent typhoon impacts that test its urban resilience. This study examines the relationship between Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) urban spatial forms and Taipei’s resilience against typhoons, considering both physical urban morphology and planning factors. We apply a Dynamic Analytic Network Process (DANP), an integrated DEMATEL-ANP multi-criteria approach to evaluate and prioritize key resilience-related spatial and planning factors in TOD areas. Rather than using GIS flood modeling, we emphasize empirical indicators derived from local data, including urban density, transit accessibility, historical typhoon flood impacts, infrastructure vulnerability, and demographic exposure. An extensive literature review covers TOD principles, urban resilience theory, and DANP methodology, with a particular emphasis on the Taiwanese context and case studies. Empirical results reveal that specific TOD characteristics indeed enhance typhoon resilience. High-density, mixed-use development around transit can reduce overall exposure to hazards by curbing sprawl into floodplains and enabling efficient evacuations. Using DANP, we find that infrastructure robustness and emergency planning capacity emerge as the most influential factors for resilience in Taipei’s TOD neighborhoods, followed by land use and management and transit accessibility. Weighted rankings of Taipei’s districts suggest that centrally located TOD-intensive districts score higher in resilience metrics, while peripheral districts with flood-prone areas tend to lag. The Discussion explores these findings, considering planning policies—noting that TOD can bolster resilience if coupled with adaptive infrastructure and inclusive planning—and compares them with examples like Singapore’s integrated land use and transit strategy, which dramatically reduced flood risk. The study concludes with policy implications for integrating TOD and climate resilience in urban planning, and contributions of the DANP approach for complex urban resilience evaluations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Adaptation to Heat and Climate Change)
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