How Is Spatial Planning Adapting to Climate Change? A Textual Analysis Based on the Territorial and Spatial Plans of 368 Chinese Cities

Abstract

Spatial planning is broadly acknowledged for its pivotal role in local climate change adaptation. Nevertheless, variations persist among countries in their perceptions and practices concerning the effectiveness and feasibility of utilizing spatial planning for climate change adaptation. Chinese cities confront the challenges of global warming, rapid urbanization, and intensified extreme weather events. Climate change adaptation agreements, frameworks, and policies have predominantly emphasized the national scale, often overlooking local adaptation efforts. However, the ongoing reform and restructuring of China’s territorial and spatial planning system encompasses the categorization, hierarchical management, control of comprehensive national land resource development, and conservation. This process is gradually establishing spatial planning strategies that synergize with the impacts of climate change, thereby offering an opportunity to integrate climate change adaptation objectives into spatial planning. This endeavor is supported by a series of regulatory standards and guidelines to ensure its effective implementation. The study scrutinizes the public draft of territorial and spatial master plans for 368 Chinese cities to assess the integration of climate change concerns at the local level and to identify disparities among cities. Employing the Awareness, Analysis, and Action Framework (3A Framework), which draws from prior scholarship and integrates relevant existing research, we identified and assessed 30 criteria for recognizing and appraising climate change adaptation strategies in territorial and spatial planning. The study’s findings indicate that: (1) The role of territorial and spatial planning in integrating climate change issues at the city level requires enhancement, as reflected in the generally low “awareness” of climate change concerns, limited “analytical capacity” regarding climate change, and a certain foundation for “action response” to climate change adaptation; (2) Large cities, characterized by robust economies and population concentrations, generally outperform small and medium-sized cities. They exhibit a superior ability to delineate quantifiable climate adaptation indicators and measures. In conclusion, the study provides prospective recommendations concerning technical approaches, spatial governance, mechanisms, and actions to more effectively incorporate climate change adaptation objectives into local-level territorial and spatial planning.

Integration of Climate Change Strategies into Policy and Planning for Regional Development: A Case Study of Greece

“…Similar conclusions for other European member states are reached by [66] and M. Nowak et al [67]. The same is the case with cities in China [68].…”

Psychological Trust Dynamics in Climate Change Adaptation Decision-Making Processes: A Literature Review

“…Nevertheless, there is a pressing need to strengthen the role of territorial planning in addressing climate change at the urban level, especially due to inadequate awareness, limited analytical capability, and insufficient action regarding climate change issues. Gen-erally, larger cities, with their robust economies and dense populations, tend to excel in climate change initiatives compared to smaller ones [40,41].…”

A Multi-Approach and Collaborative Pathway towards Designing Climate Strategies: The Case of Trentino, a Mountainous Region in Italy

“…With the European Commission adopting the new EU Strategy 'on adaptation to climate change' on 24 February 2021 [5], the pathway to prepare for the significant impacts of climate emergency has been set out. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fifth Assessment Report, has identified cities as primary areas at risk from climate change [9], highlighting that environmental and climate challenges have major effects in urban contexts. Although discussions on climate emergency were initiated more than 30 years ago, when several nations agreed that development should be sustainable (e.g., 1992 Earth Summit) [10], adaptation was not considered that significant at the time.…”

“…Several frameworks have been developed by international and national institutions dealing with spatial scales, but they usually tackle planning or policy and do not consider how these areas will be designed. For example, climate-related planning frameworks have been developed by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) [15], whilst the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) have focused more on policy and adaptation towards urban resilience [9]. Planning for climate adaptation emerges fast, especially at a 'geo-political' scale [14].…”

“…The notion that an effective climate adaptation plan incorporates social and decision-making processes has started to emerge [14] and allows for more room for the landscape needs to be seen as a collective of issues in relation to strategies developed in cities or regions. As Zhou et al [9] suggest, 'local authorities must improve their adaptive capacity' if we are to respond to the impact of climate emergency, and this paper examines ways in which strategies can be developed at a local level. Vulnerable cities were among the first to include resilient strategies in their plans and interact with regional and national strategies as well as community mechanisms [16].…”