Integrating urban climate knowledge: The need for a new knowledge infrastructure to support climate-responsive urbanism

Abstract

Cities are a spatial nexus for the anthropogenic drivers of climate changes at local, regional and global scales. These drivers are the result of countless decisions made at a hierarchy of urban scales (building, neighbourhood and city) that have accumulated over time. Cities are also places that are exposed to natural and enhanced hazards and are at particular risk owing to the concentration of population and infrastructure, much of which is vulnerable. For all of these reasons, cities are a focus of climate management strategies that includes air quality, indoor thermal comfort, mitigation and adaptation, etc. Each of these strategies are often the purview of specialist fields that have a narrow focus on specific issues. However, effective management of the urban climate will require an integrated knowledge base to support decision-making. This chapter outlines the need for this integration and identifies the link between indoor and outdoor climates as a critical gap in urban climate management.