Overview of Climate Changes, Urgent Need for Urban and Regional Planning - Coursework Example

URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING Name Course Tutor University Date Urban and Regional Planning Nearly, 75 percent of the populations in many countries live in cities. Globally, cities have increased recognition of the need to prepare for climate change and its impacts. Some cities have experienced changes in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as flooding, caused by heightened precipitation. Other cities have experienced extreme droughts and heat waves caused by the changes in temperature. Cities in the coastal areas have experienced disappearance of wetlands, coastal erosion and storm surges. Debates on the real causes of climate changes are ongoing while it is clear that urban residents and assets are at risk due to emerging weather and climate patterns. The existing physical evidence is a fact that climate change is already happening due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since 1950s (Matthews 2011, p. 234). This is the reason why cities have to take initiatives to prepare for impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse emissions. Urban areas will be affected by the changes in climate in various ways. Changes in temperature and stress caused by natural disasters on historical buildings, infrastructure, environmental quality, residential areas and ecosystems will be affect cities in all countries (Matthews 2011, p. 234). Impacts of climate change will cause increases in illnesses and death among the vulnerable populations (Matthews 2011, p. 244). To minimize these effects on people’s lives and assets, local governments are required to take proactive steps to protect the human populations, built environment and the natural systems. Some cities have adopted mitigation processes, which aim at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases while others have adopted adaptation processes, which are aimed at immediate actions and decisions that decreases vulnerability to climate changes and decrease the effects. This essay gives an overview of climate changes, reasons why local governments have to plan for climate change now, some of the barriers that the local governments might face and the status of some of the cities around the world, in relation to climate adaptation planning processes. Overview of Climate Changes The relatively warm temperatures enable life on earth. Gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor and methane existing gin the atmosphere make the earth warm (Davoudi, et al. 2012, p. 299). The existence of greenhouse gases at some levels in the atmosphere make human beings, other animals and plants able to live because they trap some of the radiating heat from the earth. They limit the amount of heat lost through the atmosphere through the process called greenhouse effect (Davoudi, et al. 2012, p. 225). The increase of amounts of greenhouse gases has been rapid in the recent years due to everyday activities such as agricultural practices, burning fossil fuels and clearing forests (Davoudi, et al. 2012, p. 229). The rapid increase of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to changes in the earth’s atmosphere composition and the global climate. According to Davoudi, et al. (2012, p. 299), carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 1750 and 2005 has increased by thirty five percent. This is a consequence of changes in land use, burning of fossil fuels, decomposition of organic matter, agriculture, use of fossil fuel, organic carbon oxidation in soils and cement production (Adger 2010, p. 329). Methane, on the other hand, has experienced an increase of one hundred and forty two percent between 1750 and 2005, as a result of agriculture, manure management, wetlands, use of fossil fuels and decomposition of organic matter (Adger 2010, p. 329). Finally, nitrous oxide has experienced an increase of eighteen percent in the atmosphere between the year 1750 and 2005 (Adger 2010, p. 339). The most notable change on the earth because of changes in composition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is that the earth is getting warmer. This is commonly known as global warming. Evidence of the rapid increase of the warming trend is widespread. Every senior leader of the government, staff members or even members of the public have a role to play in preparing their governments and communities for climate change and its impacts (Adger 2010, p. 340). Urgent Need for Urban and Regional Planning There is an urgent need for urban and regional planning to prepare cities and communities for climate change impacts. The main action will be reducing emissions of greenhouse gases today, which will play a critical role in determining climate changes in the future (Birkmann 2010, p. 187). There are however reasons why government cannot wait for the reduction of greenhouse gases globally, and therefore, have to start taking steps for preparing for impacts of climate changes. The first reason is the fact that climate change is already happening (Birkmann 2010, p. 197). Secondly, it is possible to have a significant reduction of greenhouse gases, but it is unlikely that the emission of greenhouse can be reversed or stabilized in the near future (Lawler 2009, p. 80). The third reason why urban and regional planning cannot wait for the reduction of emission of greenhouse gases is the fact that changes in climate will be experienced long after the emissions of greenhouse gases is stabilized (Lawler 2009, p. 82). After the greenhouse gases are stabilized in the atmosphere, global temperature and ocean levels, will not reach an immediate equilibrium due to the characteristics and physical size of the oceans and atmosphere (Füssel 2007, p. 268). This may take hundreds of years to stabilize. The fourth reason why the governments cannot wait for the stabilization of greenhouse gases to act is the fact that climate change might lead to irreversible losses in some areas if no immediate action is taken (Füssel 2007, p. 268). Loses, such as, extinction of species and loss of cultural, historical and habitat permanently cannot be reversed. These loses can be avoided by managing human choices and ecosystem systems today. Finally, climate changes will have mostly have negative consequences although it may present few economic opportunities. Reasons for Urban, Regional and State Governments to Plan for Climate Change Now Cities around the world are increasingly aware of the need to prepare for the consequences of climate change. They have begun to compare their experiences and test ideas on how to develop adaptation plans and identify measure to identify. The first reason why this is important is that the present can benefit from planning or climate change adaptation (Snover 2007, p. 618). When urban cities and governments are assessing the impacts of the future climate on communities and the world, they will find out that communities are experiencing some extreme consequences of the present day climate changes, which may be worse in the future (Snover 2007, p. 618). While some communities are experiencing drought due to climate changes, this may become worse in the future, risking the community’s lives, assets and future. The governments may, therefore, decide to implement water conservation projects to prepare for the future consequences of climate changes. People in such communities will experience present day benefits out of the project planned for the future (Snover 2007, p. 618). Furthermore, it is clear that planning for the consequences of climate change represents good government. In the United States of America and across the world, governments have a common goal of making sure their communities are safe and healthy now and in the future (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 247). The governments have to make sure that they anticipate changes and trends that can affect the wellbeing of their economy, community and the environment, with the purpose of meeting the essential public services and integrity that the public requires of them (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 249). The fact that climate changes will affect many communities and their assets is clear to such governments, and therefore, they have to portray good government and risk management by planning for the impacts of climate change now. Climate change is happening and since it is a global trend, every locality, region or state is experiencing it in different ways and degrees (Measham et al. 2011, p. 890). When international and federal governments design policies and programs, there is a limited level of specificity, and therefore, it is upon the regional, state and local government to hold a strong position in planning for climate change consequences according to the specific circumstances (Measham et al. 2011, p. 890). They have to be ready for the specific unique climate changes they expect to face because regions are different. While the higher governments must provide funding and support the strategies for climate change preparedness, the local governments have a greater responsibility of planning proactively (Measham et al. 2011, p. 901). In addition, the reason why the local governments have to plan proactively is that proactive planning has more positive effects, as compared to responding to the impacts of the climate changes, as they happen or after (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). It is also less costly. Local governments are required to be flexible, anticipate and address the expected climate change impacts. This is important because it will save money and the lives of community members significantly. For example, a local government can create a water reservoir in response to the future impacts of climate changes on water supply and demand. The reservoir will meet the current needs of the community members, save costs on having to build or expand the reservoir in the future when the consequences are extensive (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). When governments think strategically, today, the future risks are decreased. Being proactive and strategic in planning for climate change today will create opportunities for altering the policies and practices that exist today, which increase vulnerability to climate change (Byrne, Hughes, Rickerson & Kurdgelashvili 2007, p. 4558). For example, when there are developments plans to build on an area that faces the risk of the rise of sea level or coastal flooding, those plans can be changed to avoid loss of lives and property (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). Thinking strategically, increases the benefits in the future. For example, when the result of planning for impacts of climate change is a longer growing season, communities can capitalize on that and with adequate water supplies have greater agricultural production. Secondly, if temperatures are warmer in winter, cost for maintaining roads during winter will be reduced, and therefore, a lot will be saved (Snover 2007, p. 618). Common Barriers to Planning For Climate Change Cities and local governments will face very many barriers when planning for climate change. There will also be resistance from other regions or organizations (Füssel 2007, p. 278). Most of these barriers can however be addressed to ensure smooth planning for climate change. One of the barriers is the lack of enough knowledge or information on when or how the impacts of climate change will affect certain communities (Füssel 2007, p. 268). Impacts of climate change may not be understood if the information is minimal. Furthermore, effects of climate change my come in unexpected ways. There are a variety ways in which climate change may affect communities and function of governments. The obvious impacts are the increased probability of extreme happenings such as storms, flooding, drought, increased erosions, forest fires and spread of new or existing vector bore diseases (Füssel 2007, p. 269). Some communities are facing these impacts to some extent, and increased climate change will increase the effects of managing theses problems. This will happen through changes in the extent, frequency, intensity or magnitude of the problems (Adger 2010, p. 328). This barrier can be addressed by reviewing and visiting the various sources of information about climate change that are available. For example, there are various sources of information about how climate change might the United States of America, in different sub regions (Adger 2010, p. 339). This information specifies the types of resources such as forests, coasts, agriculture and water supply. For local governments and cities to get a better understanding of how to plan for climate change, they can use the available information even when information for their specific regions is not available (Davoudi, et al. 2012, p. 229). They can also consult regional climate experts and resource managers to find out the climate changes that will affect their communities. The second barrier to planning for climate change effectively is the belief that the action of planning for climate change should be done by the higher levels of the government (Davoudi, et al. 2012, p. 230). This perception is mainly created by the attention of media to the policies the government should enact to reduce emission if green house gasses. Such attention creates the belief that changes in climate are an international problem, and therefore, should be handled by international agreements and federal policies (Matthews 2011, p. 249). It is true that in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, national and international polices have a critical role to play. It may however take a long time for the policies to bear any substantive results in reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It may also take more than half a century to reach global average temperature (Matthews 2011, p. 249). To address this barrier, it is important for local governments and cities to realize that impacts of climate changes will be felt more locally. They, therefore, have to come up with strategies that are locally based to manage the impacts (Birkmann 2010, p. 200). Extreme climate changes might not be felt in some localities for decades, and this creates a barrier for planning for impacts of climate changes, when such communities insist that they will plan for the climate changes when they witness the evidence f its impacts. The time lag might make the consequences worse that they would have been, had they been addressed earlier (Birkmann 2010, p. 199). Furthermore, it will create the impression that climate change is an issue that should be addressed when there is evidence that it is happening. Delays in planning for climate change will increase the vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Some preparedness strategies need to be implemented immediately, such as, expanding water supply system to accommodate a growing population (Birkmann 2010, p. 197). Such a strategy may take ten to thirty years and if not implemented immediately, can expose a region to drought, high economic costs and higher water rates (Snover 2007, p. 618). To address this barrier, it is important for local governments and cities to plan for changes in climate early to take advantage of the low cost opportunities. For example to manage an area vulnerable to frequent and intense floods, the low cost strategy will be to leave the floodplain undeveloped. If development is allowed in such an area, there could be risks of having to take approaches that are more expensive later, such as installation of major infrastructure, such as dykes, to protect lives and property in the areas vulnerable to floods (Snover 2007, p. 618). Lack of money and time to deal with climate change is another barrier faced by most local governments (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). Multiple important issues exist that governments have to deal with, which makes it difficult to prepare for climate change immediately. Constraints on financial, technical, human resource and institutional can also reduce the ability of an organization to plan and address climate changes significantly (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). There is also the issue of lack of political support and resources. Although the issue of climate changes has attained global awareness, it still faces the challenge of support for climate change preparedness (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). Support is needed from the higher levels of management for the appropriate institution and political environment to be created for climate change planning to occur. Lack of support from the higher levels of management makes it difficult to pursue the strategies of preparedness. To address this issue, it is important to fit the planning schedule in the existing work plan and budget (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). It is important to start by using the available institutional, technical, financial and human resources when planning for climate change (Measham et al. 2011, p. 890). It will then be easier to identify needs for additional resources later in the planning process. Furthermore, it is important identify the reasons why the strategy of planning for preparedness of climate is lacking political support or enough resources. This will help in developing a strategy in such a way that it gains more support. In the meantime, it is advisable to make use of the limited resources and political support to come up with impressive results (Measham et al. 2011, p. 890). Status of Urban Planning For Climate Change In relation to the current and expected climate changes, cities around the globe have reported that they are in the process of planning the climate adaptation. According to Kern, Alber and Energy (2008, p. 171) sixty-eight percent of cities in the world reported to have started initiating some form of climate change planning. Canadian and Latin American cities have the leading place in their engagement for planning for climate adaptation planning, at ninety two percent and ninety five percent respectively (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). They are followed by Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and Asia (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). The cities in the United States of America have recorded the lowest rate of engagement in urban adaptation planning for climate change at fifty nine percent (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). Various activities exist that cities can pursue to advance their levels of adaptation planning. The preparatory stages of adaptation planning include gathering information holding informal discussions on the issue, consulting experts and exploring existing and new ideas for adaptation. The initial strategies of adaptation planning include forming committees to address the issue, doing research on climate science and having preliminary meetings. It is also important to form vulnerability and risks assessments, work out a plan development that will e acceptable by the parties involved (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). Various cities have shown great efforts of early preparedness for climate change. In United States of America, Boston Metropolitan Region has created an academic report on the impacts of climate change on its area, titled Infrastructure Systems, Services and Climate Change: Integrated Impacts and Responses Strategies for the Boston Metropolitan Area (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 252). The report is also known as Climate’s Long term Impacts on Metro Boston or CLIMB and was published by researchers in the local Boston universities in 2004(). The project took five years and gives substantive and quantitative data on the ways in which climate change affects infrastructure (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 251). Boston has, therefore, served as an example of cities that have initiated adaptation plans for climate change and its impacts. In addition to Boston, London in United Kingdom is also one of the cities that showed efforts in planning for impacts of climate change in its region. Representatives from different agencies and governments organized a committee known as London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP) in 2001, which was an initiative of the Greater London Authorities (Snover 2007, p. 618). LCCP committee created several guidelines and strategies for areas that would be affected by impacts of climate change. The strategies included financial support, building and transportation assistance. According to Snover (2007, p. 618), climate change mitigation and adaptation policies have been included in the revised London Plan by the Mayor Ken Livingstone. He also appointed a senior police officer to create a strategy for preparedness through the process of stakeholder engagement (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 171). In an eighteen-month period between 2005 and 2006, there were about one hundred presentations and fifteen workshops organized using various agencies and stakeholders to create awareness of how changes in climate might affect them. Furthermore, the LCCP has made publications including London’s Warming, which is a comprehensive report on the impacts of climate changes to the urban regions of London (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 176). Miami-Dade County in Florida has been one of the leading regions in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the atmosphere for over ten years now (Kern, Alber & Energy 2008, p. 186). Recently, it has formed a committee called Climate Change Advisory Task Force (CCATF), which makes recommendations on the best actions the community can take to remain climate resilient in matters of economy, health and natural systems (Byrne, Hughes, Rickerson & Kurdgelashvili 2007, p. 4558). Adaptation through Plan Making Worldwide, plan making is a very important planning tool used by various urban cities and local governments. Written plans are very important because they will provide a clear framework of the strategy in climate adaptation processes (Byrne, Hughes, Rickerson & Kurdgelashvili 2007, p. 4558). They will also give a framework of the proper planning and the development of the area that will be sustained over the duration of the plan. These plans will entail the short-term and long-term goals in relation to the current effects of climate change and the anticipated outcomes (Byrne, Hughes, Rickerson & Kurdgelashvili 2007, p. 4558). Written plans of climate change adaptation will also give the vision of the development of the area to which the plan relates. Finally, it will give clear guidance to the parties involved through the development control process, and it will serve to protect and enhance the amenities of the area (Lawler 2009, p. 82). Proper planning capacities in urban areas will increase adaptive capacities. Proper plans will include planning for land use and design of the infrastructure to decrease the level of vulnerability to climate changes. When creating a plan for climate change adaptation in urban areas, specific issues have to be addressed such as whether the adaptation plan is only a development plan, if there will be a need for separate adaptation plans and finally, whether adaptation should be addressed best through different types of plans (Lawler 2009, p. 82). Effective policies on climate change adaptation have to be incorporated into other policies. The issue of climate change adaptation is very demanding, and it may require responses from different areas of expertise. Professional planners and planning authorities have to invite other professional stakeholders to contribute their expertise in the plan making process. Conclusion There is an increased need for cities to prepare for climate change and its impacts. Various cities have started making climate changes adaptive plans. The first and most important process in making adaptive plan for climate change is to collect and review important information. The process of collecting and evaluating information depends on the available resources in terms of amount of information available, financial resources and staff (Lawler 2009, p. 82). It is important to find relevant information about climate changes in different regions. Detailed information on different regions will vary differently in regions. It is also important to find out how climate is anticipated to changing your specific region (Snover 2007, p. 618). To gather such information, the local governments or their representatives have together information on key climate variables such as precipitation and temperature. Climate changes according to seasons will also be very important information to gather. Out of this information, one is able to predict the climatic changes within a period. It is also important to find out the projected impacts of changes in climate in one region. During the gathering of information and analyzing, it is important to incorporate key stakeholders such as transport authorities, regional government departments, conservation authorities and utilities (Snover 2007, p. 618). Engaging key stakeholders is important for understanding how climate changes will affect specific cities. They will also come up with practical adaptation strategies and will initiate support for implementing those adaptation processes (Saavedra & Budd 2009, p. 250). References Adger, WN 2010, ‘Social capital, collective action and adaptation to climate change,’ In Der klimawandel, pp. 327-345, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Birkmann, J Garschagen, M Kraas, F & Quang, N 2010, ‘Adaptive urban governance: new challenges for the second generation of urban adaptation strategies to climate change,’ Sustainability Science, 5(2), 185-206. Byrne, J Hughes, K Rickerson, W & Kurdgelashvili 2007, ‘American policy conflict in the greenhouse: Divergent trends in federal, regional, state, and local green energy and climate change policy,’ Energy Policy, 35(9), 4555-4573. 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