Upscaling urban data science for global climate solutions

Creutzig, Felix; Lohrey, Steffen; Bai, Xuemei; Baklanov, Alexander; Dawson, Richard; Dhakal, Shobhakar; Lamb, William F.; McPhearson, Timon; Minx, Jan C.; Muñoz, Esteban; Walsh, Brenna

doi:10.1017/sus.2018.16

Cited by 100 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 214 publications

(304 reference statements)

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“…There is a scientific consensus on the need for spatially detailed information on urban landscapes at a global scale to support a range of environmental services 1 . The consensus has emerged as the simulation and forecasting capabilities of models have improved radically over the last decade and the demand for reliable urban-scale information that can inform policies has increased 2 .…”

Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combining expert and crowd-sourced training data to map urban form and functions for the continental US

et al. 2020

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Although continental urban areas are relatively small, they are major drivers of environmental change at local, regional and global scales. Moreover, they are especially vulnerable to these changes owing to the concentration of population and their exposure to a range of hydro-meteorological hazards, emphasizing the need for spatially detailed information on urbanized landscapes. These data need to be consistent in content and scale and provide a holistic description of urban layouts to address different user needs. Here, we map the continental United States into Local Climate Zone (LCZ) types at a 100 m spatial resolution using expert and crowd-sourced information. There are 10 urban LCZ types, each associated with a set of relevant variables such that the map represents a valuable database of urban properties. These data are benchmarked against continental-wide existing and novel geographic databases on urban form. We anticipate the dataset provided here will be useful for researchers and practitioners to assess how the configuration, size, and shape of cities impact the important human and environmental outcomes.

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Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…green fraction) and function (e.g. transportation networks) to mitigate the urban impact 1 , 21 – 23 . While these data can be assembled for data-rich cities, the challenge is to acquire sufficient information at very large scales using a consistent methodology.…”

Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining expert and crowd-sourced training data to map urban form and functions for the continental US

et al. 2020

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“…In addition, this study cross-references the observed land-cover and land-use changes with historic and present-day planning policies. Considering the rapidly growing number of applications using the LCZ scheme [28] and the need for data-based approaches to upscale urban climate solutions [27] and integrated urban weather, environment and climate services [42], this effort is undertaken to demonstrate that the LCZ framework might push the mission of WUDAPT well beyond the provision of "urban canopy information and modelling infrastructure to facilitate urban-focused climate, weather, air-quality and energy-use modelling application studies" [28]. It provides a powerful means to transfer and translate scientific urban climate information to city practitioners, allowing them to form rational urban planning strategies toward the sustainable development of cities [43,44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing Kunming’s (China) Historical Urban Planning Policies Through Local Climate Zones

et al. 2019

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Over the last decade, Kunming has been subject to a strong urbanisation driven by rapid economic growth and socio-economic, topographical and proximity factors. As this urbanisation is expected to continue in the future, it is important to understand its environmental impacts and the role that spatial planning strategies and urbanisation regulations can play herein. This is addressed by (1) quantifying the cities’ expansion and intra-urban restructuring using Local Climate Zones (LCZs) for three periods in time (2005, 2011 and 2017) based on the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tool (WUDAPT) protocol, and (2) cross-referencing observed land-use and land-cover changes with existing planning regulations. The results of the surveys on urban development show that, between 2005 and 2011, the city showed spatial expansion, whereas between 2011 and 2017, densification mainly occurred within the existing urban extent. Between 2005 and 2017, the fraction of open LCZs increased, with the largest increase taking place between 2011 and 2017. The largest decrease was seen for low the plants (LCZ D) and agricultural greenhouse (LCZ H) categories. As the potential of LCZs as, for example, a heat stress assessment tool has been shown elsewhere, understanding the relation between policy strategies and LCZ changes is important to take rational urban planning strategies toward sustainable city development.

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“…by modifying the route network and allocate bus priority corridors. Through the use of big data curated towards transportation and tourism, we are able to understand how public transport is used at destinations, the precise distinction between urban and rural geographical spaces so as to transform public transport into a potential alternative model for travelling [67]. Socially, there also needs to be an understanding of the most important factors influencing tourist choices and satisfaction with public transport, and therefore, we can best encourage public transport use in tourism.…”

Section: Policy Implications For Local Decision-makersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unique Opportunities of Island States to Transition to a Low-Carbon Mobility System

2020

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Small islands developing states (SIDS) contribute minuscule proportions to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption, but are highly exposed to climate change impacts, in particular to extreme weather events and sea-level rise. However, there is little research on potential decarbonization trajectories unique to SIDS. Here, we argue that insular topology, scale, and economy are distinctive characteristics of SIDS that facilitate overcoming carbon lock-in. We investigate these dimensions for the three islands of Barbados, Fiji, and Mauritius. We find that insular topologies and small scale offer an opportunity for both public transit corridors and rapid electrification of car fleets. The tourism sector enables local decision-makers and investors to experiment with shared mobility and to induce spillover effects by educating tourists about new mobility options. Limited network effects, and the particular economy thus enables to overcome carbon lock-in. We call for targeted investments into SIDS to transition insular mobility systems towards zero carbon in 2040. The decarbonization of SIDS is not only needed as a mitigation effort, but also as a strong signal to the global community underlining that a zero-carbon future is possible.

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Upscaling urban data science for global climate solutions

Cited by 100 publications

References 214 publications

Combining expert and crowd-sourced training data to map urban form and functions for the continental US

Combining expert and crowd-sourced training data to map urban form and functions for the continental US

Revealing Kunming’s (China) Historical Urban Planning Policies Through Local Climate Zones

Unique Opportunities of Island States to Transition to a Low-Carbon Mobility System

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