Climate Action Planning for Resilience and Justice in Extreme and Extreme-ing Urban Environments

Abstract

Resilience and climate action have become key priorities within planning policy and practice in many urban contexts, especially in relation to climate change and extreme weather. Like urban planning, addressing climate change in cities requires a long-term outlook. Beyond the environmental and physical nature of climate-related challenges, there is a social aspect to the relationship between urban planning and climate change that incorporates concepts of justice. The abilities of communities to cope with the distributional impacts of climate change in cities demands a multi-faceted approach from planners to engage with the complex interplay of resilience, climate action, and climate justice. In light of the increasing vulnerability to these long- and short-term challenges, it is crucial to understand how resilience and climate action can be fully established within planning practice, at what scales planners should be involved, and how planning can be integrated into other resilience-related endeavors. Drawing from the results of comparative case studies and discussions with professional planners in the Boston and Anchorage, this chapter explores the complexities of planning’s engagement with the resilience agenda, focusing on the production of specific climate-related plans and their capacity to contend with the concept of justice alongside climate action. The chapter places planning within the wider resilience agenda, highlighting the shortcomings of stakeholder communication and community involvement, while exploring planning’s capacity to address siloed working environments and break down barriers to pursue meaningful, just, and successfully implemented resilience solutions in vulnerable cities.