Urban Green Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The changing climate is creating far reaching consequences on communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Whether major natural disasters (e.g. hurricanes, heat waves, river flooding, etc.) or persistent ones (e.g. sea level rise, longer fire seasons, insect pathogens, etc.), the implications of climate change will require fundamental transitions in the planning and management of cities and towns. At the same time, while many communities are preparing for a warming climate, we have no systematic assessment of the adaptation measures currently underway in urban areas.

Numerous jurisdictions are examining the potential for and actively applying green infrastructure with the aim of reducing the impacts of climate change, and more significantly, improve adaptation responses. Their approach is to implement green infrastructure to improve communities’ resiliency by helping manage flood risk, prepare for drought, reduce urban heat island effects, and protect coasts. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to using green infrastructure to address climate adaptation, sharing promising insights from practice and research can help communities adapt to climate change.

Though definitive understandings of green infrastructure and its role in climate change are still emerging, we offer the scholar community an opportunity to help to define this field. We are calling scholars and practitioners to contribute empirical assessment of the role of green infrastructure in addressing urban climate adaptation efforts. Topics of interest include:

• Fluvial or pluvial flooding
• Drought resistance and water security
• Urban heat
• Energy use
• Stormwater management
• Coastal hazards

These topics are only examples, and other, perhaps novel and/or emerging topics about green infrastructure for climate adaption are welcome. Articles that define terms, offer systematic assessments, methodologically generalizable, empirically based, and offer practical guidance to decision makers are particularly encouraged.

Prof. Vivek Shandas
Prof. Austin Troy
Guest Editors

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