Climate Resilient Urban Planning Training Course

Participants can select and communicate climate information appropriate to urban planning decisions.

• Climate normals, observed trends and extremes used in urban baselines
• Representative Concentration Pathways and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways compared
• Selecting climate variables relevant to heat, flooding, drought and coastal hazards
• Downscaled projections, uncertainty ranges and limitations of local climate data
• Scenario narratives connecting demographic growth, land use and climate change
• Communicating projections without false precision or deterministic claims

Participants can map urban systems and identify critical dependencies during climate shocks.

• Systems mapping of water, energy, transport, health and communications
• Critical asset identification using service consequences and dependency analysis
• Cascading failure pathways following flood, heatwave and power disruption
• Service continuity requirements for hospitals, shelters and emergency operations
• Asset condition data combined with climate hazard exposure information
• Interdependencies between formal infrastructure, ecosystems and informal service providers

Participants can prepare a multi-hazard profile for a city or urban district.

• Flood hazard types including pluvial, fluvial, coastal and groundwater flooding
• Heat hazard mapping using temperature, humidity, shade and nighttime exposure
• Drought, water scarcity and wildfire risks affecting urban service systems
• Sea-level rise, storm surge and coastal erosion assessment inputs
• Hazard frequency, intensity and duration estimated from available evidence
• Compound events assessed through concurrent hazards and interacting impacts

Participants can identify populations, assets and places requiring targeted adaptation measures.

• Exposure inventories for people, buildings, infrastructure and economic activity
• Social vulnerability indicators covering income, health, tenure and mobility
• Informal settlements assessed through service deficits and hazard location
• Gender, age, disability and livelihood factors in vulnerability analysis
• Participatory risk assessment methods for validating technical vulnerability findings
• Equity criteria incorporated into adaptation prioritisation and benefit distribution

Participants can formulate evidence-based climate risk statements for priority urban systems.

• ISO 14091 risk assessment steps applied to urban planning evidence
• Risk matrices calibrated using likelihood, consequence and confidence ratings
• Consequence categories covering lives, services, assets, economy and ecosystems
• Risk statements connecting hazard, exposure, vulnerability and projected impacts
• Residual risk documented after existing controls and planned investments
• Risk registers structured for municipal planning and capital programme reviews

Participants can integrate climate-risk evidence into land-use and development planning controls.

• Climate-sensitive land suitability analysis using hazard and development constraints
• Floodplain zoning, setbacks and development restrictions for risk reduction
• Heat-responsive urban form through shade, ventilation and surface materials
• Density, mixed use and access standards supporting climate-resilient neighbourhoods
• Risk-informed site selection for schools, clinics and emergency facilities
• Development control conditions addressing drainage, cooling and flood protection

Participants can identify adaptation measures for priority urban infrastructure systems.

• Climate design parameters for roads, drainage, water and energy assets
• Asset criticality analysis guiding adaptation investment and maintenance sequencing
• Redundancy, safe failure and modularity principles for essential infrastructure
• Drainage capacity assessments under changing rainfall intensity assumptions
• Heat resilience measures for buildings, public spaces and transport systems
• Lifecycle asset management incorporating climate risks and adaptation costs

Participants can select nature-based measures suited to urban climate hazards and service needs.

• Nature-based solutions addressing flood mitigation, heat reduction and water security
• Blue-green infrastructure networks linked to catchments and public space
• Urban tree canopy planning using species, maintenance and survival criteria
• Wetlands, riparian buffers and retention areas for flood management
• Co-benefit assessment covering biodiversity, health, recreation and livelihoods
• Maintenance responsibilities and land tenure constraints affecting long-term performance

Participants can formulate a balanced portfolio of structural, policy and service interventions.

• Adaptation option typology covering physical, institutional, social and ecosystem measures
• Problem trees used to identify underlying drivers of urban climate vulnerability
• Intervention logic linking actions, outputs, outcomes and reduced climate risk
• No-regret, low-regret and flexible options classified under uncertainty
• Avoiding lock-in from irreversible land use and infrastructure decisions
• Portfolio design balancing neighbourhood measures with citywide system investments

Participants can create adaptation pathways with triggers for future decisions.

• Adaptation pathways mapping sequences, dependencies and timing of interventions
• Decision thresholds defined through climate indicators, service levels and asset performance
• Dynamic adaptive policy pathways applied to long-lived urban investments
• Flexible design provisions allowing future expansion, retrofit or relocation
• Signposts and triggers established for monitoring changing climate conditions
• Pathway comparisons tested against alternative climate and development scenarios

Participants can compare adaptation investments using economic, social and resilience criteria.

• Multi-criteria analysis weighting risk reduction, equity, feasibility and co-benefits
• Cost-benefit analysis assumptions for avoided losses and adaptation expenditures
• Discount rates, asset lifetimes and uncertainty in adaptation appraisal
• Distributional analysis identifying who bears costs and receives benefits
• Residual risk and failure consequences included in investment comparisons
• Prioritisation matrices documented with transparent evidence and decision rationale

Participants can structure adaptation concepts for municipal budgeting and external financing.

• Climate finance eligibility linked to adaptation rationale and measurable benefits
• Project concept notes structured around problem, intervention and expected outcomes
• Municipal capital budgeting aligned with phased adaptation investment programmes
• Blended finance considerations for revenue-generating urban resilience assets
• Climate budget tagging used to track adaptation-related public expenditure
• Economic and technical evidence required for funder project appraisal

Participants can establish governance arrangements for implementing urban adaptation priorities.

• Institutional mapping of planning, utilities, emergency services and community actors
• RACI matrices assigning adaptation delivery, approval and accountability responsibilities
• Vertical coordination between national policy, regional authorities and municipalities
• Stakeholder engagement plans tailored to affected groups and decision influence
• Conflict management for relocation, zoning restrictions and contested public space
• Public communication messages linking adaptation measures with everyday service benefits

Participants can align urban adaptation planning with disaster preparedness and recovery arrangements.

• Sendai Framework priorities connected to municipal adaptation planning processes
• Early warning systems linked to heat, flood and storm response protocols
• Contingency planning for critical services during extreme climate events
• Build back better principles incorporated into recovery and reconstruction plans
• Evacuation, shelter and cooling-centre planning for vulnerable populations
• Preparedness indicators aligned with longer-term adaptation monitoring systems

Participants can design a monitoring framework that supports adaptation learning and accountability.

• Theory of change linking adaptation actions to resilience outcomes
• Output, outcome and impact indicators selected for urban adaptation programmes
• Baseline data requirements for risk reduction and service continuity metrics
• Disaggregated indicators tracking equity outcomes among vulnerable population groups
• Monitoring dashboards combining climate, asset, service and community data
• Adaptive management reviews triggered by performance gaps and new evidence

Participants can assemble the core sections of an implementable urban adaptation plan.

• Plan scope defined by geography, systems, authority and planning horizon
• Risk assessment findings translated into strategic adaptation objectives
• Priority actions organised by sector, location, timeframe and responsible entity
• Implementation roadmaps linking actions, budgets, milestones and dependencies
• Policy alignment checked against local plans and national climate commitments
• Plan approval processes mapped for technical review and political endorsement

Participants can communicate climate evidence and adaptation choices to varied decision audiences.

• Risk communication principles addressing uncertainty, urgency and public trust
• Decision-maker briefings structured around choices, costs, consequences and timing
• Maps, charts and infographics selected for clear climate risk communication
• Narratives connecting technical evidence with resident experience and service impacts
• Objections anticipated for land restrictions, costs and competing development priorities
• Presentation techniques supporting accountable adaptation investment decisions

Participants can quality-assure urban adaptation plans against technical and implementation criteria.

• Quality review criteria covering evidence, feasibility, equity and financing
• Maladaptation checks identifying transferred risk, exclusion and carbon-intensive responses
• Sensitivity testing of priorities against alternative scenario assumptions
• Implementation readiness assessed through authority, capacity, budget and procurement
• Independent technical review processes for major urban resilience investments
• Revision logs documenting decisions, evidence gaps and follow-up actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete climate-resilient urban action plan for a defined city or district.

• Risk profile synthesising hazards, exposure, vulnerability and critical service dependencies
• Scenario assumptions documented for population growth, climate and urban development
• Priority adaptation portfolio justified through multi-criteria appraisal results
• Adaptation pathway showing sequencing, thresholds, triggers and decision points
• Implementation roadmap assigning responsibilities, budgets, milestones and financing sources
• Monitoring framework defining indicators, baselines, review cycles and data owners
• Peer review against feasibility, equity, residual risk and maladaptation criteria
• Executive presentation communicating priorities, trade-offs and immediate next actions