Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.8
3.9
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Integrating Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Urban...
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Integrating Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Urban Planning

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 6465

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kalliopi Sapountzaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, 17676 Kallithea , Greece
Interests: risk and disaster management; risk governance; territorial governance; spatial planning; sustainable development; climate change mitigation and adaptation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) is considered the process of adjusting to new conditions, stresses and natural hazards resulting from CC, which aims to minimize losses and maximize benefits, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to primarily reducing the risk of disasters (i.e., potential disaster losses), some of which are triggered by CC-related hazards. Hence, there is an overlap between CCA and DRR. Both CCA and DRR benefit from adaptation capacity and resilience building on the one hand and vulnerability reduction on the other (Schipper 2009), even though the notion of vulnerability has different connotations in the respective scientific fields. The two fields share a vulnerability component (with several aspects) to be reduced and a resilience/adaptation capacity component to be enhanced. Urban territories are suffering from CC hazards and the associated Disaster Risks owing to their high exposure and vulnerability levels (with socioeconomic, systemic, institutional and territorial vulnerability being the most prominent aspects). Therefore, the urban territory is a privileged field for both DRR and CCA through vulnerability mitigation and resilience enhancement. Considering that both processes have a strong spatial (development) dimension, it seems that their integration is best achieved through sustainable urban planning (under the precondition that they are adopted as first-priority objectives). After all, (spatial) planning is a policy field pursuing the integration of sectoral policies. This option of (Sustainable) Urban Planning as a DRR and CCA integration policy platform is acknowledged by both the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Goal 11) and the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030.

While the above integration sounds easy and promising, there are still several obstacles to realization: CC and DR perceptions and social awareness are generally very low; (spatial) development objectives predominate, and restrictions to development are not welcome by communities; “vulnerability”, “resilience” and “adaptation capacity” are unknown terms to most planners, and the risks of disaster are out of their field of consideration; vulnerability reduction only rarely appears as a social claim, although hazards and risks of CC always intensify; prioritizing vulnerability reduction means stakeholders (including political institutions) have to lower their land revenue and profit expectations; collective urban resilience may conflict with personal resilience owing to tough competition for resilience resource engagement (e.g., land ownership/development rights), etc.

The Special Issue invites contributions presenting (a) Urban (Spatial) Planning cases aiming at DRR and CCA and deploying appropriate tools and processes for their integration; (b) DRR and CCA policies and measures successfully embedded in existing Urban Plans based on the sustainability principles; (c) catalysts and/or obstacles to the integration of the principles of sustainability with CCA and DRR in the context of urban (spatial) planning procedures.

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

  • Approaches and methods for urban resilience and adaptive capacity assessments;
  • Resilient, adaptive and transformative urban planning to accommodate the uncertainties of CC and DR;
  • Urban planning objectives, tools, processes, agencies and principles reducing vulnerability to CC hazards;
  • Public communication/consultation and urban governance processes raising urban communities’ awareness of CC hazards and associated disaster risks;
  • Institutional initiatives toward CCA and DRR embedded in urban plans (at the neighbourhood, district, municipal, metropolitan level);
  • Urban resilience resources and their allocation;
  • Mapping urban resilience resources and adaptive capacities;
  • Conflicts between community and personal resilience in the cities;
  • Incompatibilities between DRR and CCA;
  • Informal urban settlements, DRR and CCA;
  • Urban morphology and structure accommodating DRR and CCA;
  • Sustainability of urban cultural heritage, DRR and CCA;
  • DRR and CCA in historical urban districts;
  • Contingency plans versus natural hazards embedded in urban spatial plans;
  • Building resilient urban transportation networks;
  • New technologies serving the resilience and adaptation capacity of cities.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Kalliopi Sapountzaki
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 planning
  • disaster risk mitigation
  • urban vulnerability
  • urban resilience
  • adaptation to CC
  • urban sustainability
  • risk-informed planning

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 5284 KiB  
Article
Disaster Risk Management and Spatial Planning: Evidence from the Fire-Stricken Area of Mati, Greece
by Miranda Dandoulaki, Miltiades Lazoglou, Nikos Pangas and Konstantinos Serraos
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9776; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129776 - 19 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2234
Abstract
The debate over spatial planning highlights the need for more interdisciplinary, strategic, and collaborative methods to achieve broad policy goals such as resilience and sustainability. Risk-based planning is gaining importance due to the rising vulnerability of urban infrastructure. Incorporating disaster risk management into [...] Read more.
The debate over spatial planning highlights the need for more interdisciplinary, strategic, and collaborative methods to achieve broad policy goals such as resilience and sustainability. Risk-based planning is gaining importance due to the rising vulnerability of urban infrastructure. Incorporating disaster risk management into spatial planning requires a geographically based strategy for reducing catastrophe risk. This article outlines the role of spatial planning in the reconstruction of the Mati settlement in Attica, Greece, that was devastated by a forest fire in 2018. It presents a set of proposals that relate to the urban reorganization of the area and considers disaster risk reduction and disaster management, as well as sustainability issues relating to mobility, the management of the natural environment, and the recovery of the coastline as a public resource. The basis for this article is the contribution of the Urban Planning Research Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens/School of Architecture to the preparation of the Special Urban Plan for the fire-stricken area of Mati, Attica, on behalf of the Technical Chamber of Greece. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Urban Planning)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1051 KiB  
Article
Awareness Level of Spatial Planning Tools for Disaster Risk Reduction in Informal Settlements in Mopani District, South Africa
by Juliet Akola, James Chakwizira, Emaculate Ingwani and Peter Bikam
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5380; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065380 - 17 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1586
Abstract
Disaster risks are becoming more prevalent in densely populated spaces such as informal settlements as a result of unplanned urbanisation. Several scholars ascribe this condition to inadequate awareness of spatial planning tools among informal settlers, as these influence where and how they construct [...] Read more.
Disaster risks are becoming more prevalent in densely populated spaces such as informal settlements as a result of unplanned urbanisation. Several scholars ascribe this condition to inadequate awareness of spatial planning tools among informal settlers, as these influence where and how they construct their buildings for disaster risk reduction. This study aimed at assessing the awareness level of spatial planning tools for disaster risk reduction in informal settlements in Mopani District, South Africa. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 608 households that were selected using stratified sampling. The Relative Importance Index which was transformed into five importance levels was used to assess the awareness level of spatial planning tools for disaster risk reduction. The study analysed the relationship between participant characteristics and awareness level using a t-test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA). The transformed relative importance index revealed that there is a moderate to low level of awareness of spatial planning tools for disaster risk reduction. A t-test and an ANOVA revealed significant differences in awareness levels of spatial planning tools between the sub-groups based on gender, education and income levels. The females, low-income earners and less educated have a lower awareness level of spatial planning tools for disaster risk reduction. The study recommends focusing on raising awareness of spatial planning tools for disaster risk reduction among the females, low-income earners and less educated to promote safe, healthy and liveable spaces in informal settlements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Urban Planning)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 1241 KiB  
Article
A Methodological Tool to Integrate Theoretical Concepts in Climate Change Adaptation to Spatial Planning
by Konstantina-Dimitra Salata and Athena Yiannakou
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2693; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032693 - 2 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1978
Abstract
Climate change adaptation has become an important policy domain, as it has the potential to substantially reduce many of the adverse impacts of climate change. Several scientific terms and general concepts have been used to comprehend adaptation, including vulnerability, exposure, sensitivity, adaptability, and [...] Read more.
Climate change adaptation has become an important policy domain, as it has the potential to substantially reduce many of the adverse impacts of climate change. Several scientific terms and general concepts have been used to comprehend adaptation, including vulnerability, exposure, sensitivity, adaptability, and resilience. However, most of these concepts are often used in inconsistent ways and their relationship is to a large extent unclear. As a result, there is a lack of clear understanding of adaptation and its practical implementation in fields such as spatial planning, whose role in tackling climate change, especially through ecosystem approaches, is critical. This paper attempts to investigate the practical integration of adaptation in the context of spatial planning, specifically through Green Infrastructure (GI) planning. Applying a thematic analysis to 91 scientific and major policy documents, the main determinants of the critical concepts that relate to adaptation were identified, classified, and intertwined with key determinants of GI planning and design. The analysis led to the development of a methodological tool, named REAd GrIn. This model can be used to prepare and evaluate spatial plans and policies, which integrate the concepts of resilience, vulnerability, and adaptability to achieve adaptation through spatial planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Urban Planning)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop