Climate Action Guide for Urban Planners

By 2050, two out of every three people on Earth will be living in cities. As cities grow, they typically expand outwards, growing in area and converting more land to urban use. The built-up area of cities is therefore growing faster than their populations, leading to vast and sprawling cities, often occupying area vulnerable to climate hazards.

Some 80% of cities face significant risks from heat and flooding, while around 90% of urban expansion in Global South countries is happening near hazard-prone areas – and taking the form of informal and unplanned settlements.

The guide, available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic, will support urban planners from cities around the world to play their full part in tackling the climate crisis. Urban planning is a city function which offers unparalleled opportunities to set cities on development pathways that are lower-carbon and more responsive to evolving climate risks.

The guide focuses on the preparation and policy content of urban plans – known variously as strategic spatial plans, master plans, land use plans, and more. The guide also identifies a range of planning policies from cities around the world which have been designed with specific climate considerations in mind.