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consideration is related to the perception of sustainability, often viewed as an
“abstract” goal, whose implementation is beset with difficulties. In addition, the
perception of the city’s decline has encouraged the integration of urban planning,
economy and ecology moving more and more towards an understanding of social,
political and environmental sustainability disciplines (Musco 2008).
If with the signing of the New Aalborg Charter in 2004, European local governments made specific commitments ranging from urban planning to new ways of life,
from the economy to urban upgrading, it is with the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable
Cities and the EU’s Territorial Agenda (2007) that the strategies and principles for
sustainable urban development policies in Europe were defined.
Nowadays, cities are facing a new crisis, which therefore requires a new perception of all the principles related to sustainability. Climate change goes beyond any
previous human challenge, as it requires an integrated and dynamic approach.
Currently, the international scientific community recognizes climate change as a
major challenge for the development and sustainability of the twenty-first century
(UNDP 2005, 2010; OECD 2009; World Bank 2012; UN-Habitat 2011a, b), for the
revitalization of urban areas, and it recognizes two main aspects: (i) the difficulty of
reaching a shared consensus for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
in international negotiations and (ii) the growing international consensus on the
urgent need to build strategies to adapt to climate change on a national, regional and
local level (Musco and Magni 2014).
For this reason, during the last decade, urban areas have become central to the
international debate on climate issues. The new geography of contemporary urbanization in fact identifies urban areas as a key element in the processes of globalization and transition to new land occupation models worldwide (Seto et al. 2010).
Therefore, today as in the past, if the task of planning is to reduce the risks and negative externalities and help provide answers to the concerns and aspirations that people express with respect to their living environment, it is necessary to step back and
critically reflect on the concepts that underlie the planning and reformulate them in
the light of new urban scenarios.
Mitigation and Adaptation in the European Agenda
The debate on climate change, supported by empirical evidence brought by the
Stern Review (Carraro 2009), followed by regular reports from the IPCC (2007,
2013), the EU report on temperature increases and the EEA’s (2012) report on
“Urban adaptation to climate change” in Europe, has become increasingly important within the urban issues. Climate protection can be generally defined as a set of
indirect policies for adaptation and mitigation aimed at reducing the impact of climate change on natural and anthropized systems to the reduction of environmental
externalities that may favour the climate changes in the medium and long term
(Musco 2009). This combined approach of policies to mitigate and adapt acquires a
strategic value, since it allows different management levels, multiple policy areas
Planning and Climate Change: Concepts, Approaches, Design
consideration is related to the perception of sustainability, often viewed as an
“abstract” goal, whose implementation is beset with difficulties. In addition, the
perception of the city’s decline has encouraged the integration of urban planning,
economy and ecology moving more and more towards an understanding of social,
political and environmental sustainability disciplines (Musco 2008).
If with the signing of the New Aalborg Charter in 2004, European local governments made specific commitments ranging from urban planning to new ways of life,
from the economy to urban upgrading, it is with the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable
Cities and the EU’s Territorial Agenda (2007) that the strategies and principles for
sustainable urban development policies in Europe were defined.
Nowadays, cities are facing a new crisis, which therefore requires a new perception of all the principles related to sustainability. Climate change goes beyond any
previous human challenge, as it requires an integrated and dynamic approach.
Currently, the international scientific community recognizes climate change as a
major challenge for the development and sustainability of the twenty-first century
(UNDP 2005, 2010; OECD 2009; World Bank 2012; UN-Habitat 2011a, b), for the
revitalization of urban areas, and it recognizes two main aspects: (i) the difficulty of
reaching a shared consensus for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
in international negotiations and (ii) the growing international consensus on the
urgent need to build strategies to adapt to climate change on a national, regional and
local level (Musco and Magni 2014).
For this reason, during the last decade, urban areas have become central to the
international debate on climate issues. The new geography of contemporary urbanization in fact identifies urban areas as a key element in the processes of globalization and transition to new land occupation models worldwide (Seto et al. 2010).
Therefore, today as in the past, if the task of planning is to reduce the risks and negative externalities and help provide answers to the concerns and aspirations that people express with respect to their living environment, it is necessary to step back and
critically reflect on the concepts that underlie the planning and reformulate them in
the light of new urban scenarios.
Mitigation and Adaptation in the European Agenda
The debate on climate change, supported by empirical evidence brought by the
Stern Review (Carraro 2009), followed by regular reports from the IPCC (2007,
2013), the EU report on temperature increases and the EEA’s (2012) report on
“Urban adaptation to climate change” in Europe, has become increasingly important within the urban issues. Climate protection can be generally defined as a set of
indirect policies for adaptation and mitigation aimed at reducing the impact of climate change on natural and anthropized systems to the reduction of environmental
externalities that may favour the climate changes in the medium and long term
(Musco 2009). This combined approach of policies to mitigate and adapt acquires a
strategic value, since it allows different management levels, multiple policy areas
Planning and Climate Change: Concepts, Approaches, Design