Urban risk and planning

This toolkit provides a practical, step-by-step framework to support cities, urban local governments, planners, practitioners, and community stakeholders in developing and implementing Heat Action Plans (HAPs) to address the growing risks of extreme heat.

As heat, drought and extreme rainfall put growing pressure on Europe’s cities, the city of Guimaraes is using digital tools and scientific data to decide where climate action is needed most, and to measure what works.

This study applied an integrated flood risk assessment framework to evaluate climate-driven compound flood risk in Broadland, with particular emphasis on how methodological choices influence exposure, damage and spatial risk estimates.

Three cities are learning from each other about how to protect residents. These climate policies are also public health measures.

As heat overlaps with other intensifying climate events, scientists are uncovering how they compound each other – and how cities can adapt

As storms happen more often and with more intensity, considering the full life cycle of a building and its costs over time becomes increasingly important to get an accurate picture of how sustainable that building really is.

The new mayor wants to invest in coastal resilience, but he will have to decide which areas of the city to protect. New York City has more than 500 miles of coastline, no two miles of the waterfront are quite the same and are vulnerable in different ways.

Despite decades of warnings, neighborhoods in Reno and Spokane have sprawled ever closer to a hotter, drier wilderness. And in the summer, months of low humidity and hot weather prime the landscape to burn.

Contemporary transportation infrastructure is not designed for the extreme levels of heat as the frequency and severity of high temperatures increases. Those in charge must respond to increased stress on infrastructure systems, with mitigation techniques

Green and blue spaces, such as woodlands and riversides, could provide a vital line of defence for cities facing increasingly hot summers, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

Proper tree maintenance can help trees withstand hurricanes. The audio explores how pruning, planting the right species and managing tree health can reduce storm damage and help communities build resilience.

New York City is investing US$95 million in a Cloudburst project in Homecrest, Brooklyn, using porous pavement and underground storage to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and strengthen resilience to intense rainfall driven by climate change.

Long-term maintenance plans, clear ownership responsibilities and funding for stewardship may prove as important as the installation. Climate adaptation isn’t just about building infrastructure, but ensuring it continues to thrive for years to come.

This study employs a multi-temporal geospatial approach to quantify the degradation of the Akkulam-Veli wetland system in Thiruvananthapuram, India, and investigates its direct correlation with increasing urban flood susceptibility.

Researchers found that canals cool their immediate surroundings during the day, typically extending 20–50 m from canal banks. Cooling effect is greater during spring and early summer and is noticeable during heatwaves, with cooling of more than 2°C.

This study systematically compares urban climate change mitigation and adaptation by city types using big data and machine learning. Proposed approach could inspire city networks to create task forces and evidence-based ecosystems for deep learning

Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. Researchers from TUM and TUlane University show that the sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas.

New study reveals growing exposure of roads, railways, ports, airports and inland waterways to climate extremes and unprecedented impacts.

For three days in April this year, airport staff, government officials, and humanitarian responders sat down at NAIA not to talk about check-in queues or runway slots, but about something harder: what does this airport look like when a crisis hits?

The state’s first Superfund research center is looking into how climate change is resurfacing industrial pollution.

This study investigates the perceived impacts of extreme climate events particularly floods, heatwaves, and droughts on food security, public health, energy systems, and water resources in the Greater Accra Region (GAR), Ghana.

This research article examines how intercity connectivity strengthens urban mobility resilience during extreme rainfall, using mobility data from 366 Chinese cities.

Between 20–22 June 2026, the coastal regions of the countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea, particularly Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria, experienced exceptionally widespread and severe flooding following intense and persistent rainfall.

This report captures the outcomes and impact of the Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP) in Spain between 2023 and 2026.

Climate Central analysis shows that residents of the 65 largest U.S. cities experience an average of 8°F of extra heat due to the built environment.

This study examines post-disaster risk communication after the Grenfell Tower fire, arguing that acknowledging uncertainty, enabling inclusive risk assessment and applying precaution can help rebuild trust between authorities and affected communities.

Research from the University of Oxford has ranked 205 of the world's largest cities by their risk from extreme heat, identifying where people are most in danger as global temperatures rise.

This report outlines how Singapore has developed a coordinated strategy to address the growing risks of urban heat under climate change. L

Researchers are calling for cities to double down on one of the simplest yet most powerful solutions to many problems.

This report reveals that extreme heat is emerging as one of the most underestimated threats to economic development worldwide, hammering city economies, overwhelming health systems, and falling hardest on women working on the frontlines of a hotter world.

This study seeks to understand how UHI risks are perceived, prioritised, and addressed in Sri Lankan cities, identify barriers and enablers influencing local government action.

This study aims to synthesise existing knowledge on urban heat island mechanisms, patterns, and impacts; review strategies for reducing UHI and heat risks; and develop a conceptual framework to support urban heat resilience and sustainable city planning.

By mapping shade, a new online tool calculates the best way to stroll a city without overheating.

Analysis pinpoints areas most vulnerable to hotter, drier weather causing ground to shrink and drag foundations down

This study analyses the impact of the earthquakes that occurred on the 7 and 19 September 2017, with magnitudes of 8.2 and 7.1 respectively, on crime patterns in Mexico City.

This study proposes an integrated environmental-urban diagnostic methodology that defines objective functions, identifies priority intervention areas, clarifies the role of drainage projects, and enables the measurement of intervention efficiency.

In conflict-affected Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, nature-based solutions are reducing flooding, protecting hydropower dams and creating green jobs, providing lessons for rapidly urbanizing cities across sub-Saharan Africa.

The 2026 IDDRR aims to raise global awareness of the centrality of the home in disaster risk reduction, advocate for stronger governance and investment in resilient housing.

Our novel artificial intelligence model can predict extreme storm surges with high accuracy, including under future climate conditions.

The following six infographics project highlight key messages about heatwaves in cities, including the impacts of heatwaves and vulnerability to heat, as well as steps cities can take to understand and mitigate heat risks.

Dutch cities are increasingly facing foundation problems as a result of low groundwater levels, shrinking clay soils and land subsidence. Climate change is exacerbating these effects.

This index-based study examines the heatwave resilience of both formal and informal communities located in Lahore, Pakistan. Resilience is assessed in terms of its capacities and dimensions.

Cities around the world are planting more trees to cope with rising urban heat. But our research shows trees alone are often not enough.

A study of 138 Indian cities combines satellite vegetation data, night-light data, extreme-aware heat downscaling, and explainable AI to show why urban greening must be matched to humidity, canopy density, and airflow.