Integrated Urban Planning for Resilient Cities: How Cities Can Cope with the Challenges of Urbanization and Climate Change

Many cities around the world are significantly challenged by increasing impacts of climate change and the fast pace of urban growth. Especially coastal cities are already experiencing severe impacts today which will be further aggravated by sea-level rise. Increased flooding caused by extreme weather events has made it painfully obvious that cities need to act today, as these challenges will only exacerbate through climate change in the future. One dramatic example is the flooding that occurred in Chennai during the Monsoon season 2015. This networking session will offer a space for delegates from coastal cities to interact with and learn from each other. The event will be structured as an interactive dialogue between research and city-level urban resilience practitioners, to explore lessons learnt and arising opportunities with regard to making urban planning more resilient. The event will be framed by short inputs from research practitioners and/or representatives of selected coastal cities followed by a facilitated panel discussion. The session will serve to fulfil the following objectives: 1) share experiences and knowledge about the necessary instruments and policies to guide urban planning into a resilient and equitable future; 2) create an open dialogue between research, representatives of cities, as well as other practitioners and stakeholders to debate different technical and institutional approaches to sustainable urban development; and 3) identify mutual partnerships by assessing not only common challenges but also the replicability of measures of resilience building across distinct local contexts. Overall, the event is expected to contribute inputs on urban environmental sustainability and resilience in the New Urban Agenda. It will also generate opportunities for future collaborative action on adaptation to sea level rise among the five cities and beyond.