Dear Colleagues,

Rapid urbanization is one of the most relevant but also threatening trends for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. One prominent aim, SDG 13 Climate Action, is directly related to sustainable urban development. Increases in impervious areas from soil sealing and land consumption by unplanned or informal urban development is weakening the resilience and adaptive capacities not only of the urban systems, but of their environments on which they pose huge pressures in terms of pollution, local climate changes and biodiversity losses. One of the key requirements for sustainable urban systems is therefore to include Climate Action in policies and planning for livelihood and human well-being.

Vice versa, urban areas are suffering particularly from climate change impacts, considering, for instance, urban heat effects in hot summers, increasing flood risks or long smog periods. Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) are expected to contribute largely to a bundle of UN SDGs, such as SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The achievement of many of them can be endangered through adverse climate change impacts which provoke water scarcity, critical situations related to portable water, sewage disposal and problems related to waterborne diseases. Additionally, climate change-driven migration can contribute to informal settlements at urban fringes that put undue pressure on relevant services such as the circulation of cool air, water percolation and flood mitigation.

We are pleased to invite scientists working at the nexus of climate change–urban development–sustainability to this Special Issue which intends to present case studies in different global regions about the interactions of climate change and the achievement of the UN SDGs, particularly in fast growing metropolitan areas, but also with regard to future risks for urban development. This Special Issue also intends to showcase how smart urban planning, improved information and communication policies and governance mixes can help us to mitigate and overcome the negative back-coupling effects of climate change for sustainable urban development.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, but also perspective and discussion papers. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Climate change impacts on urban sustainable development goals;
• Climate change risks, threats and chances for sustainable urban development;
• Climate change and rural–urban migration patterns;
• Climate trends and urban green, blue and grey infrastructure;
• Nature-based solutions for coping with climate change in urban contexts;
• Participatory urban planning instruments to respond to climate change;
• Sustainable urban governance under future climate conditions;
• Urban planning and development of resilient cities;
• Urban dwellers viewpoints on climate change—vulnerable groups.

Prof. Dr. Christine Fürst
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mushahid Anwar
Prof. Dr. Yazidhi Bamutaze
Dr. Ellen Banzhaf
Prof. Dr. Bolormaa Batsuuri
Prof. Dr. Henry Bulley
Prof. Dr. Paula Kapstein
Prof. Dr. Daniele La Rosa
Prof. Dr. Purevtseren Myagmartseren
Prof. Dr. Appollonia Okhimamhe
Prof. Dr. Malte Steinbrink
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. Climate is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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• climate change
• nature-based solutions
• participatory planning instruments
• rural–urban migration
• urbanization
• urban governance
• urban planning and development
• UN Sustainable Development Goals

Title: Translocality and the complexities of the climate change–urbanisation nexus
Authors: Malte Steinbrink; Christian Ungruhe
Affiliation: University of Passau
Abstract: It is widely acknowledged in academic and political discourses that climate change leads to increased migration from rural areas to cities. Often, it implies that such climate-induced migration has negative implications for both the rural and the urban sphere. In contrast and by foregrounding the concept of translocality, this paper wants to emphasise the complexity of migration practices and outcomes. In West Africa, translocality, e.g. in the form of rural-urban linkages such as households organised across vast distances, is a widely established form of securing livelihoods. Among other effects, while this may reduce the pressure to migrate from rural areas, it may mitigate processes of urbanisation, particularly in peripheral areas that are both drivers of and affected by climate change. Against this background, our paper is designed as think-piece that calls for acknowledging such translocal realities in the realm of the climate change-urbanisation nexus.

Title: Urban expansion and green spaces change under Climate Change in Mali, West Africa
Authors: Mohamed FOMBA* 1; Zinash D. Osunde 2; Christine Fürst 3,4; Souleymane S. TRAORE 5,6; Appollonia Okhimamhe 1,7
Affiliation: 1. West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) Doctoral Research Programme on Climate Change and Human Habitat, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria 2. Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State, Nigeria, 3. Department of Agriculture and Bioresources Engineering, Managing Director, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Department Sustainable Landscape Development, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle, Germany 4. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig 5. Faculty of History and Geography, University of Social Sciences and Management of Bamako, Mali 6. Soil Plant and Water Laboratory, Institute for Rural Economy, Bamako, Mali 7. Department of Geography, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria
Abstract: Increasing land use and land cover change (LULC), climate change (CC) and rapid urbanisation have considerable impacts on urban green spaces and their ecosystem services (ES). These impacts result in a loss of urban green space and particularly weaken the climate resilience of urban populations. Landsat imagery data from 1990 to 2020 and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used to track the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban sprawl and its influence on the loss of urban green space and ES in Bamako and Sikasso. A maximum likelihood classification was applied for the classification of LULCs, while the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to quantify the evolution of vegetation over the last 30 years (1990 to 2020). The results showed that the built-up area and population increasing has reduced the UGS due to the high levels of their fragmentation and isolation in Bamako and Sikasso. The decreasing of NDVI values observed in the both cities indicate a decrease in the ecosystem services provided by green spaces and climate change resilience of the population. This study recommends specific actions needed to promote the sustainable land use system such as urban green spaces which are crucial for the provision of ecosystem services and climate change resilience of cities.

Title: LAND USE AND LAND COVER ANALYSIS OF NORTH CENTRAL REGION OF NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA: IMPLICATIONS ON MIGRATION AND FOOD SECURITY
Authors: Sunday Opeyemi OKELEYE*a; Appollonia Aimiosino OKHIMAMHEa; Christine FÜRSTb and Safietou SANFOc
Affiliation: aWest African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Doctoral Research Programme on Climate Change and Human Habitat, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. bMartin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Dept. Sustainable Landscape Development, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle, Germany cWest African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Competence Center, Blvd Mouammar Kadhafi, 06, Ouagadougou, BP 9507, Burkina Faso *Corresponding author at: West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Doctoral Research Programme on Climate Change and Human Habitat, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. E-mail address: [email protected] Contact phone number: +234(0)8131504734
Abstract: Food security is adversely affected by challenges posed by changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in diverse pathways. LULC change has an effect on ecosystem goods and services leading to the migration of people especially rural dwellers. This paper uses satellite remote sensing images, physical observation and expert interview methods to assess the extent of land use and land cover change in the selected (Niger, Kwara and Benue) states of North Central Region of Nigeria and its consequent impacts on migration and food security in these areas. Remote sensing images for 1990, 2000, 2013 and 2020 were extracted from Landsat imageries and used to obtain LULC change and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The results of LULC of the areas between1990-2020 show that most of the vegetation, barren land and water body areas in the three states have been converted to agricultural land and built-up areas. Also, there is a continuous decrease in NDVI values, especially in the rural areas of the three states between 1990-2020. It can be inferred from the results of the study that despite the increase in agricultural land, there is a massive migration of people especially young farmers to cities to look for jobs leaving most agricultural lands uncultivated and if this migration is unchecked, it will have huge negative future impacts on food security of Nigeria. It is recommended that government and the relevant stakeholders should provide enabling environment and infrastructure for the rural dwellers to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration in the study areas. Keywords: LULC, migration, food security, farmers, remote sensing, NDVI, physical observation, expert interviews, North Central Region, Nigeria, West Africa