Climate change adaptation with green roofs: Instrument choice and facilitating factors in urban areas

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Christoph Clar ◽  
Reinhard Steurer
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1972
Author(s):  
Jeremy Wright ◽  
Jeremy Lytle ◽  
Devon Santillo ◽  
Luzalen Marcos ◽  
Kristiina Valter Mai

Urban densification and climate change are creating a multitude of issues for cities around the globe. Contributing factors include increased impervious surfaces that result in poor stormwater management, rising urban temperatures, poor air quality, and a lack of available green space. In the context of volatile weather, there are growing concerns regarding the effects of increased intense rainfalls and how they affect highly populated areas. Green roofs are becoming a stormwater management tool, occupying a growing area of urban roof space in many developed cities. In addition to the water-centric approach to the implementation of green roofs, these systems offer a multitude of benefits across the urban water–energy–food nexus. This paper provides insight to green roof systems available that can be utilized as tools to mitigate the effects of climate change in urbanized areas. A new array of green roof testing modules is presented along with research methods employed to address current issues related to food, energy and water performance optimization. Rainwater runoff after three rain events was observed to be reduced commensurate with the presence of a blue roof retention membrane in the testbed, the growing media depth and type, as well as the productive nature of the plants in the testbed. Preliminary observations indicate that more productive green roof systems may have increasingly positive benefits across the water–energy–food nexus in dense urban areas that are vulnerable to climate disruption.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa Yusuf Jimoh ◽  
Peter Bikam ◽  
Hector Chikoore ◽  
James Chakwizira ◽  
Emaculate Ingwani

New climate change realities are no longer a doubtful phenomenon, but realities to adapt and live with. Its cogent impacts and implications’ dispositions pervade all sectors and geographic scales, making no sector or geographic area immune, nor any human endeavor spared from the associated adversities. The consequences of this emerging climate order are already manifesting, with narratives written beyond the alterations in temperature and precipitation, particularly in urban areas of semi-arid region of South Africa. The need to better understand and respond to the new climate change realities is particularly acute in this region. Thus, this chapter highlights the concept of adaptation as a fundamental component of managing climate change vulnerability, through identifying and providing insight in respect of some available climate change adaptation models and how these models fit within the premises and programmes of sustainable adaptation in semi-arid region with gaps identification. The efforts of governments within the global context are examined with households’ individual adaptation strategies to climate change hazards in Mopani District. The factors hindering the success of sustainable urban climate change adaptation strategic framework and urban households’ adaptive systems are also subjects of debate and constitute the concluding remarks to the chapter.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2245
Author(s):  
Fernando Barriuso ◽  
Beatriz Urbano

Green roofs and walls can mitigate the environmental and climate change of a city. They can decrease the urban heat island (UHI), reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fix environmental pollutants, manage urban stormwater runoff, attenuate noise, and enhance biodiversity. This paper aims to analyse green roofs and walls in the possible mitigation of urban climate change and compare it by continent. Green roofs and walls might decrease the air temperature in a city up to 11.3 °C and lower the thermal transmittance into buildings up to 0.27 W/m2 K. Urban greening might sequester up to 375 g C·m−2 per two growing seasons and increase stormwater retention up to 100%. Urban greening might attenuate city noise up to 9.5 dB. The results found green roofs and walls of varied effectiveness in ameliorating climate extremes present in host continents. Results show urban planners might focus on green roofs and walls exposure to attenuate temperatures in hotter Asian cities and advise greening in cities in Africa and Asia. European and American designers might optimise runoff water capacity of green roofs and walls systems and use greening in old buildings to improve insulation. Recommendations are made based on the study to concentrate certain designs to have greater impact on priority climate challenges, whether UHI or stormwater related. This study provides information for decision and policymakers regarding design and exposure of green roofs and walls to mitigate urban environmental and climate change.


2017 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 188-194
Author(s):  
Mihai Stancu ◽  
Maria Cheveresan ◽  
Valentin Zaharia ◽  
Tudor Poienariu

Author(s):  
Brad Bass

The author is a member of Environment Canada's Adaptation and Impact Research Group, located in the Centre for Environment at the University of Toronto. His primary research interests include the use of ecological technologies in adapting urban areas to atmospheric change, the impacts of climate change on the energy sector, and the characteristics of adaptable systems. His current work on ecological technologies includes green roofs, vertical gardens and living machines. Dr Bass has been involved in two major projects, in Ottawa and Toronto, to evaluate the impact of green roofs on the urban heat island, energy consumption, stormwater runoff and water quality. Currently, Dr Bass is conducting research on integrating green roof infrastructure with other vegetation strategies at a community scale, simulating the impact of a green roof on the energy consumption of individual buildings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Novi Maulida Ni'mah ◽  
Muhammad Sani Roychansyah ◽  
Bambang Hari Wibisono

The imperative of ‘making cities resilient and sustainable’ necessitates cities to develop adaptation concepts and practices in response to the uncertainty, rapid change, and complexity of urban areas. A new concept of governance that can answer the challenges of contemporary urban development and ensure long-term sustainable development is required. This study aimed to identify the general framework of adaptive urban governance by review, elaboration, and analysis of documents, in this case, scientific articles that discuss urban governance specifically related to climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The results of this study include an overview of governance approaches appearing in the literature on CCA and DRR, which was parsed down to the adaptive and anticipatory approaches. Adaptive governance requires the principle of flexibility applied in the management cycle in policy formulation, while anticipatory governance requires the principle of proactivity with the application of future foresight in policy formulation. The dimension of governance consists of process/mechanism (risk management) and capacity (technical, institutional, financial, and human capacity). Some challenges in building good governance based on an adaptive approach are encouraging community involvement, increasing local government capacities, and building integration between actors, networks, and collaborations.   Abstrak. Dalam menjadikan suatu kota tangguh dan berkelanjutan,  kota diharuskan untuk mengembangkan konsep dan praktik adaptasi dalam menanggapi ketidakpastian, perubahan yang cepat, dan kompleksitas kawasan perkotaan. Diperlukan konsep tata kelola baru yang dapat menjawab tantangan pembangunan perkotaan kontemporer dan memastikan pembangunan berkelanjutan jangka panjang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi kerangka umum tata kelola kota adaptif dengan metode review, elaborasi, dan analisis dokumen, dalam hal ini artikel ilmiah yang membahas tentang tata kelola kota secara khusus terkait dengan adaptasi perubahan iklim (CCA) dan pengurangan risiko bencana (PRB). Hasil penelitian ini meliputi gambaran pendekatan tata kelola yang muncul dalam literatur CCA dan PRB, yang diuraikan menjadi pendekatan adaptif dan antisipatif. Tata kelola adaptif membutuhkan prinsip fleksibilitas yang diterapkan dalam siklus pengelolaan dalam perumusan kebijakan, sedangkan tata kelola antisipatif membutuhkan prinsip proaktif dengan penerapan pandangan jauh ke depan dalam perumusan kebijakan. Dimensi tata kelola terdiri dari proses / mekanisme (manajemen risiko) dan kapasitas (teknis, kelembagaan, keuangan, dan kapasitas manusia). Beberapa tantangan dalam membangun tata kelola pemerintahan yang baik berdasarkan pendekatan adaptif adalah mendorong keterlibatan masyarakat, meningkatkan kapasitas pemerintah daerah, dan membangun integrasi antar aktor, jaringan, dan kolaborasi.   Kata kunci: pendekatan tata kelola; tata kelola kota; pembangunan berkelanjutan; ketahanan; kerangka konseptual.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khyati Kakkad ◽  
Michelle L. Barzaga ◽  
Sylvan Wallenstein ◽  
Gulrez Shah Azhar ◽  
Perry E. Sheffield

Health effects from climate change are an international concern with urban areas at particular risk due to urban heat island effects. The burden of disease on vulnerable populations in non-climate-controlled settings has not been well studied. This study compared neonatal morbidity in a non-air-conditioned hospital during the 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad to morbidity in the prior and subsequent years. The outcome of interest was neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions for heat. During the months of April, May, and June of 2010, 24 NICU admissions were for heat versus 8 and 4 in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Both the effect of moving the maternity ward and the effect of high temperatures were statistically significant, controlling for each other. Above 42 degrees Celsius, each daily maximum temperature increase of a degree was associated with 43% increase in heat-related admissions (95% CI 9.2–88%). Lower floor location of the maternity ward within hospital which occurred after the 2010 heat wave showed a protective effect. These findings demonstrate the importance of simple surveillance measures in motivating a hospital policy change for climate change adaptation—here relocating one ward—and the potential increasing health burden of heat in non-climate-controlled institutions on vulnerable populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shah Md. Atiqul Haq ◽  
Mohammad Nazrul Islam ◽  
Ankita Siddhanta ◽  
Khandaker Jafor Ahmed ◽  
Mohammed Thanvir Ahmed Chowdhury

In the context of rapid climate change, it is important to understand public perceptions of urban green spaces (UGSs), because green spaces have enormous potential as instruments for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and because the development of such spaces both requires and benefits from public support. This article attempts, through an extensive literature review, to understand convergences and divergences in perceptions of urban green spaces (UGSs) of city dwellers around the world and to identify gaps in the existing research. Additionally, the article explores research into the benefits associated with urban green spaces, including health (e.g., physical and mental), social (e.g., social networks and social relationships), economic (e.g., employment and income generation), and environmental (e.g., ecosystem services and biodiversity). This article further seeks to identify the extent to which urban residents have been found to perceive the roles UGSs can play in climate change adaptation and mitigation, and cultural exchange. Based on studies conducted in different countries over the past decade, this paper integrates environmental, social, cultural, and economic aspects of urban greening to provide insight into the similarities and differences in perceptions of urban green spaces and suggest approaches to building climate change resilient urban communities. This paper finds justification for: encouraging the use of integrated, multidisciplinary approaches, using innovative tools, for both the study and practical development of UGSs; conducting a greater number of studies of newer urban areas in developing countries; and considering the diverse disadvantages as well as the advantages of UGSs in order to support the continued development and expansion of this critical climate-friendly infrastructure. The more that residents' perceptions of and attitudes toward UGSs are incorporated into the design of such spaces, the more successful they will be at providing the myriad benefits they have the potential to offer.


Author(s):  
Jan Erling Klausen ◽  
Inger-Lise Saglie ◽  
Knut-Bjørn Stokke ◽  
Marte Winsvold

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