Regenerating urban areas through climate sensitive urban design

Abstract

Urban areas are among the most vulnerable sites affected by global warming. Research on the relationship between cities and climate change is now on the rise. The concept of Climate Sensitive Urban Design (CSUD) was coined with the awareness that city design must bring improvements to the urban environment besides economic, spatial, functional and aesthetic benefits and to tackle climate change issues in order to improve urban resilience. On the other hand, Urban Regeneration (UR) projects have a demonstrated potential to bring a significant contribution to the society, economy and environment of degraded urban areas and could facilitate the implementation of spatial policies that address climate change. At present, there are limited studies on Urban Regeneration efforts that possible contribution to climate change adaptation. Planners, architects and urban designers need to fully understand the opportunity provided by the Urban Regeneration process to implement the CSUD strategies. The authors argue that approaching Urban Regeneration with a Climate Sensitive design strategy would provide better integrated solutions. The application of the CSUD systems to an Urban Regeneration process have the potential to provide wider associated benefits, allowing urban designers and planners to creatively consider the form, function and design/aesthetic elements with an environmental approach. Through the review of case studies, the research presents the possible beneficial joint effects determined by the simultaneous application of Climate Sensitive Urban Design to an Urban Regeneration program with the aim to build urban resilience against the adverse impact of climate change.