Recently the awareness for the challenges that lie ahead of local policy makers and planners concerning urban heat risks in mid-latitude cities has been growing. Besides the problem of how to mitigate the Urban Heat Island(s) (UHI), cities need to adapt to the rising temperatures due to climate change. Vulnerabilities to urban heat are driven by a range of interrelated factors, e.g. demographic and social dynamics. These factors have to be taken into account when appraising the risk and respective strategies.

As part of the research group “Urban Climate and Heat Stress in mid-latitude cities in view of climate change” (UCaHS) we study the current policy integration of heat stress into the urban governance processes and respective ways of dealing with it in our test bed Berlin. Our aim is to present the results of our qualitative study which looks at the obstacles and potentials in urban planning and policy for heat risk reduction in a mid-latitude city. Our analysis focuses on the roles of regulatory approaches, policy and planning instruments and processes, and the legal environment related to local heat stress governance and planning in Berlin. We identified involved actors and institutions, their networks at different levels, as well as the interrelations with technical and natural assets. To do so, we used the recently developed approach of the Constellation Analysis (CA), an instrument which has been proved useful as a means to structure multi-faceted research objects, as we did in our research of the heat risks-city nexus.

Our results show the complexity that urban planning and governance have to consider when trying to reduce risk factors. To achieve heat risk mitigation by means of urban development, planning instruments need to be empowered and harmonized. Political backup, targeted discourses, a well-coordinated multi-scale cooperation of actors, leadership as well as knowledge integration and guiding principles on implementation are crucial factors to achieve this. Our presentation elaborates on these essential factors with regards to planning for urban heat stress reduction and good governance. Identifying the complex urban constellations and how they affect heat stress risks in an urban system is of the utmost importance when deliberating possible development paths for an urban area with different stakeholders.

Urban climatic knowledge is limited amongst urban planners in Beirut. In fact, not much interest is given to study the interactions between urban planning and associated microclimatic effects and this is in part attributed to the lack of climatic knowledge. Considering the strong impacts of climate change and urban microclimates on the quality of life of urban dwellers, and the respective sustainable urban planning practices that are being implemented and talked about worldwide, Beirut seems to have potential to learn from others. This paper considers the results of the numerical analysis that has been conducted on the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon in the Greater Beirut Area (GBA) using the Town Energy Balance (TEB) urban surface exchange modeling scheme and the various scenarios suggested for urban planners as such. The implementation of these scenarios is a major challenge for the case of Beirut that involves coordination between all concerned parties including the Higher Council for Urban Planning (HCUP) and the Directorate General of Urban Planning (DGUP) as well as climatic experts. Hamburg on the other hand is situated in a rather maritime and moderate climate and traditionally has many street trees and high percentage of water bodies and parks. Nevertheless, there is raising awareness for urban climatic questions in the administration. In this paper it is compared, whether methods can be transferred considering the great differences in background climates and economic situation. Capacity building, institutional strengthening, climatic training are amongst the few requirements to help implement controlled planning that considers its potential effects on the urban microclimate and accordingly urban populations.

Key words: Beirut, UHI, Urban Planning, Climate Knowledge, Hamburg

Rapid urbanization and urban growth have some negative effects on urban climate such as urban heat island, bad air quality and lower air flow, which consequently affect the health of habitants living in the cities. Thus better urban planning and design based on the scientific understanding of urban climate are of great importance to reduce the impact of built-up areas on the surrounding environments. Especially in (sub)tropical regions with rapid urban population growth , built-up areas in these regions expand fast with significant consequences for urban climate.

Researchers have conducted some studies in (sub)tropical regions on the relationship between urban morphology and urban climate. Some urban morphological parameters such as aspect ratio, sky view factor, and frontal area density, etc. have been understood that they have significant impact on urban climate. However, the link between urban morphological parameters and urban planning and design strategies is still weak. Scientific understanding of some morphological parameters affecting urban climate may not easily be transferred to planning and design guidelines to mitigate the negative effects of urban developments. The implication of urban morphology parameters to better urban planning and design in (sub)tropical regions needs to be assessed.

The study reviews the studies on the dependency of urban climate on urban morphological parameters in (sub)tropical regions in several aspects including 1) the spatio-temporal aspect; 2) the dimensions of urban morphological parameters; and 3) the implication of urban climate studies to urban planning and design. This review assesses the urban morphological parameters in terms of similarities and contrasts to recommend some suitable urban morphological parameters for urban climate studies under (sub)tropical climate conditions, which can be transferred to architectural practices without difficulty towards better urban planning and design to improve the urban living quality. Also further work is recommended for collaborative efforts between climatologists and urban planners and designers based on understanding the scientific needs of urban climate studies and the practical needs of urban planning and design applications in (sub)tropical regions.

Dutch urban professionals understand the need for climate adaptation, but have indicated that they need arguments and appealing examples to convince others of the urgency to adapt to urban heat. In recent years, much research in the Netherlands has been conducted into the effects of climate change (extreme precipitation, summer droughts and rising temperatures) and the increased risks for urban areas. From these studies, the need for climate change adaptation in urban environments has become evident at the national level. However, at the local (municipal) level, climate adaptation is not always obvious. Particularly in the field of urban heat, local governments are struggling with defining the urgency and finding the right arguments for adaptation to this aspect of climate change.

Based on literature, we have studies reasons and examples for adaptation to urban heat. We investigated national and international knowledge and policy reports and scientific literature. Questions that were raised in this literature study were: How is the urgency of adapting to urban heat assessed in the Netherlands, in Europe and worldwide? What arguments play a role? What are the explanatory examples that support the notification that urban heat calls for adaptation? The literature study summarizes arguments and appealing examples that local professionals can use to convince others of the need for a climate adaptation with respect to urban heat.

Climate change is a growing problem for urban areas, which should be held by the governance institutions with growing significance. In this process, there is a great need for greater capacity for adapting climate change in urban areas through effective urban policies. However, the research has shown that even if the related bodies had shown some eagerness on urban adaptation, the required steps to reduce the vulnerability of urban areas and urban populations could not be taken. Thus, it is obvious that there is a great need for adapting climate change and thus built a capacity for this both through political institutions and civil society.

Turkey started to experience an important construction boom after 2004. It was aimed to trigger the economic development owing to the backward and forward linkages of construction sector. Urban transformation is used as a tool to ease and control the building processes of the cities. Through these urban transformation processes, most of the urban areas had been re-built. This paper aims to question whether this rapid and intense change experienced on the urban built environments could have been used as an opportunity for the climate change adaptation of the related cities. The recent urban policies and implementations of local governments of Kayseri and Erzurum will be analysed in this regard. Thus, analysing the climate adaptation capacities of two cities (Kayseri and Erzurum); that are differing through their sizes and economic structures; it is aimed to put forward the capacity of Turkish urban policy to adapt climate change.

Keywords: Climate Change, Adaptation, Capacity, Urban Policy