Novel Tools and Methods for Climate-Adaptive Urban Development

Dear Colleagues,

Urban climate research is rapidly evolving as new measurement and data methods overcome the limits of fixed stations, which often miss fine-scale variability in dense, heterogeneous cities. This Topic spotlights emerging tools for climate observation: unmanned aerial vehicles for horizontal mapping and vertical profiling; mobile observation for high-resolution street transects; wearable sensors for personal exposure; street-level imagery to extract indicators of openness, shading, surface materials, and vegetation; and dense IoT networks that deliver real-time, distributed meteorology, enabling detailed maps across urban canyons and pedestrian zones.

We also invite advances in data processing, including integration of numerical simulation with physics-informed AI to interpret processes, identify drivers, and clarify mechanisms that can improve the built environment. Studies that assess how these approaches support climate-adaptive planning and decision-making—translating research into design guidelines, public policy, and management practice—are also welcome. We seek contributions from environmental science, remote sensing, data science, urban planning, landscape architecture, and public policy to build a cross-disciplinary forum turning scientific insights into practical solutions for urban livability and climate resilience.

Prof. Dr. Peng Ren
Dr. Xue Zhong
Prof. Dr. Lihua Zhao
Dr. Junru Yan
Dr. Genyu Xu
Dr. Huihui Zhao
Dr. Yuanjian Teng
Topic Editors