Chapter 12 - Human settlements, infrastructure and spatial planning

Seto, K.C., Dhakal, S., Bigio, A., Blanco, H., Delgado, G.C., Dewar, D., Huang, L., Inaba, A., Kansal, A., Lwasa, S., McMahon, J., Müller, D.B., Murakami, J., Nagendra, H., & Ramaswami, A. (2014). Chapter 12 - Human settlements, infrastructure and spatial planning. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. IPCC Working Group III Contribution to AR5. Cambridge University Press.

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Abstract

Urbanization is a process that involves simultaneous transitions and transformations across multiple dimensions, including demographic, economic, and physical changes in the landscape. Each of these dimensions presents different indicators and definitions of urbanization. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the multiple dimensions and definitions of urbanization, including implications for GHG emissions accounting, and then continues with an assessment of historical, current, and future trends across different dimensions of urbanization in the context of GHG emissions (12.2). It then discusses GHG accounting approaches and challenges specific to urban areas and human settlements.

In Section 12.3, the chapter assesses the drivers of urban GHG emissions in a systemic fashion, and examines the impacts of drivers on individuals sectors as well as the interaction and interdependence of drivers. In this section, the relative magnitude of each driver's impact on urban GHG emissions is discussed both qualitatively and quantitatively, and provides the context for a more detailed assessment of how urban form and infrastructure affect urban GHG emissions (12.4). Here, the section discusses the individual urban form drivers such as density, connectivity, and land use mix, as well as their interactions with each other. Section 12.4 also examines the links between infrastructure and urban form, as well as their combined and interacting effects on GHG emissions.

Section 12.5 identifies spatial planning strategies and policy instruments that can affect multiple drivers, and Section 12.6 examines the institutional, governance, and financial requirements to implement such policies. Of particular importance with regard to mitigation potential at the urban or local scale is a discussion of the geographic and administrative scales for which policies are implemented, overlapping, and / or in conflict. The chapter then identifies the scale and range of mitigation actions currently planned and / or implemented by local governments, and assesses the evidence of successful implementation of the plans, as well as barriers to further implementation (12.7). Next, the chapter discusses major co-benefits and adverse side-effects of mitigation at the local scale, including opportunities for sustainable development (12.8). The chapter concludes with a discussion of the major gaps in knowledge with respect to mitigation of climate change in urban areas (12.9).

Item Type:	Book Section
Research Programs:	Energy (ENE)
Bibliographic Reference:	In:; Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. IPCC Working Group III Contribution to AR5; Cambridge University Press
Depositing User:	IIASA Import
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2016 08:51
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:24
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/11114

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