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Adapting Cities to Climate Change through Sustainable Urban Ecology Initiatives

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2022) | Viewed by 4131

Special Issue Editor

Department of Forestry and Agriculture, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Interests: urban ecology; urban forestry; climate change adaptation; urban pollution; ecosystem services

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Sustainability on urban ecology and climate change adaptation.

Climate change and the multiple negative impacts on the environment and society are now an intrinsic part of contemporary life. While the scale of the impacts of future warming is complex and under debate, one thing for certain is that cities, and the increasing number of people that live in them, will need to find innovative ways to deal with climate challenges [1]. The increasing frequency and severity of heat wave events (look no further, for example, than the heatwave which affected the Pacific Northwest in summer 2021), flooding, deteriorating air quality, droughts, and pest invasions will all impact negatively on the built infrastructure and human health in cities worldwide [2].

Nature-based solutions, in the form of green roofs, street trees, and parks, are producing encouraging results [3,4]. They are able to provide shade and evapotranspirative cooling, buffer heavy rainfall events, and reduce air pollution, while providing a whole host of co-benefits, such as improving mental wellbeing, providing habitats for wildlife, and sequestering carbon. With this Special Issue, we aim to demonstrate the multiple ways in which the ecological component of cities can help to climate proof against future hazards in a sustainable manner. Case studies are welcome which demonstrate innovative approaches via empirical fieldwork or modeling. This Special Issue will hopefully serve as a useful state-of-the-art appraisal of current research in this important field.

Areas of interest include but are not limted to:

  • Climate change adaptation via greenspace;
  • Ecosystem services and disservices;
  • Urban ecology;
  • Sustainable urbanism;
  • Mapping and assessing ecosystem services;
  • Future urban climate modeling;
  • Remote sensing applications;
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems.

References

[1] Hughes, S.; Chu, E.K.; Mason, S.G. Climate Change in Cities. Springer: Cham, Germany, 2018.

[2] Andersson-Sköld et al. An integrated method for assessing climate-related risks and : adaptation alternatives in urban areas. Clim. Risk Manag. 2015, 7, 31–50

[3] Maes, J. Jacobs, S. Nature-based solutions for Europe’s sustainable development. Conserv. Lett. 2015, 10, 121–124

[4] Frantzeskaki, N. Seven lessons for planning nature-based solutions in cities. Environ. Sci. Policy. 2019, 93, 101–111

Dr. Andrew Speak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban ecology
  • climate change adaptation
  • nature-based solutions
  • ecosystem services
  • urban forest

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 8890 KiB  
Article
Contributions of Natural Carbon Sink Capacity and Carbon Neutrality in the Context of Net-Zero Carbon Cities: A Case Study of Hangzhou
by Yuxin Fan and Fang Wei
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2680; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052680 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3782
Abstract
Facing the global climate change crisis, many cities have proposed the goal to achieve net-zero carbon cities. The natural carbon sink in urban space is indispensable for net-zero carbon cities, but the existing measurement system has shortcomings in the measurement elements and precision. [...] Read more.
Facing the global climate change crisis, many cities have proposed the goal to achieve net-zero carbon cities. The natural carbon sink in urban space is indispensable for net-zero carbon cities, but the existing measurement system has shortcomings in the measurement elements and precision. This leads to unclear control objectives and elements of spatial planning, and the relevant planning strategies lack the support of quantitative results. We included the often-ignored natural carbon sink space and soil in the measurement scope. Taking Hangzhou as an example, we built a natural carbon sink capacity measurement system with respect to the carbon sequestration and storage capacity, measured the natural carbon sink, and evaluated its carbon neutrality’s contribution in urban space. The results showed that the carbon sink capacity of soil and small green spaces in built-up areas could affect the quantity and spatial pattern of the measurement results. Both should be included in the measurement system to improve corresponding spatial planning strategies’ reliability and feasibility. Additionally, Hangzhou’s annual natural carbon sequestration offset approximately 9.87% of the carbon emissions in the same year. With respect to the contribution to carbon neutrality, the role of natural carbon sinks in urban space was necessary, but the effect was limited. Therefore, strategies to reduce carbon emissions are integral for the net-zero carbon goal. Some spatial planning strategies to improve the urban natural carbon sink capacity are discussed. A more precise and comprehensive understanding of the urban natural carbon sink capacity can support the construction of a net-zero carbon city better. Full article
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