Cities slow to adapt to climate change
Becoming more vulnerable to extreme weather events
Climate change is magnifying threats such as flooding, wildfires, tropical storms and drought. In 2020, the U.S. experienced a record-breaking 22 weather and climate disasters that each caused at least US$1 billion in damage. So far in 2021, the count stands at 18.
I study urban issues and have analyzed cities’ relationship with nature for many years. As I see it, cities are quickly becoming more vulnerable to extreme weather events and permanent shifts in their climate zones.
I am concerned that the pace of climate change is accelerating much more rapidly than urban areas are taking steps to adapt to it.
EXTREME WEATHER AND LONG-TERM CLIMATE ZONE SHIFTS
Reportrs show global climate change is widespread, rapid and accelerating. For cities in temperate latitudes, this means more heat waves and shorter cold seasons. In subtropical and tropical latitudes, it means wetter rainy seasons and hotter dry seasons. Most coastal cities will be threatened by sea level rise.
Cities will face extreme weather events, including heavier snowfalls, more severe drought, water shortages, punishing heat waves, greater flooding, more wildfires, bigger storms and longer storm seasons.
A 2019 study of 520 cities around the world projected that even if nations limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial conditions, climate zones will shift hundreds of miles northward by 2050 worldwide.
Experts predict that by mid-century, London’s climate will resemble that of modern-day Barcelona, and Seattle’s will be like current conditions in San Francisco.
MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE
Cities produce more than 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from heating and cooling buildings and powering cars, trucks and other vehicles. Urbanization also makes people more vulnerable to climate change impacts.
For example, as cities expand, people clear vegetation, which can increase the risk of flooding and sea level rise. They also create impermeable surfaces that don’t absorb water, such as roads and buildings.
This contributes to flooding risks and produces urban heat islands — zones where temperatures are hotter than in outlying areas. A recent study found that the urban heat island in Jakarta, Indonesia, expanded in recent years as more land was developed for housing, businesses, industry and warehouses.
But cities are also important sources of innovation. For example, the inaugural Oberlander Prize for landscape architecture was awarded on Oct. 14, to U.S. landscape architect Julie Bargemen for re-imagining polluted and neglected urban sites. And the prestigious Pritzker Architectural Prize went this year to French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-phillipe Vassal for creating resilient buildings by transforming existing structures instead of demolishing
them to make room for new construction.
Just 25 of the world’s cities account for 52 per cent of total urban greenhouse gas emissions. This means that focusing on these cities can make a huge difference to the arc of long-term warming.
Time is also a critical resource as the pace of climate change accelerates. In the European Union, about 75 per cent of buildings are not energy efficient. A 2020 report from the European Commission predicted that it would take 50 years to make those buildings more sustainable and resilient to shifting climate conditions.
Remaking cities worldwide quickly enough to deal with more extreme weather events and new climate regimes requires massive investments in new ideas, practices and skills. I see this challenge as an ecological crisis, but also as an economic opportunity — and a chance to make cities more equitable for the 21st century and beyond.