Cities and Climate Change by Zaheer Allam & David Jones & Meelan Thondoo

Author:Zaheer Allam & David Jones & Meelan Thondoo
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030407278
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Climate Change and Urban Liveability

From the regular erratic weather incidents globally, profiled by mass media often with apocalyptic intonations, it is undoubtedly clear that most urban areas have had their liveability status negatively impacted by these increased incidences and the flow-on effects of climate change. Chapman, Azevedo, and Prieto-Lopez (2013) report that it is not surprising that cities in this modern era are under immense pressure from extreme weather conditions including extreme temperatures, with heat temperatures rising even above 50 ℃ in some cities, and the cold going even below −20 ℃ in some cities. Similarly, increased and shifting precipitation patterns are on the rise with events like extremely heavy rainfalls and unseasonal major flood events becoming a common theme in some cities and regions. The latter are even more problematic in semi-arid and arid zones where food harbouring surface soils are rapidly flooded, eroded and transported and flash flood and ponding events become more prevalent. Prolonged droughts have increasingly been experienced in the recent past, especially following extreme temperature periods and erratic flooding incidents that negatively impact upon productive agricultural fields and farms and potable water sources. Droughts have had negative impacts upon food supply chains, with urban dwellers experiencing scarcities rendering high prices for food products and basic commodities like potable water and natural supplements. Ogden (2018) confirms that there are also incidences of new traits of vector-borne diseases and illnesses that have direct correlations with climate change events that are affecting people across the development divide. Ogden (2018) explains that these patterns are partly influenced by temperature changes, as well as parasites, bacteria and viruses that are, in one way or another, also influenced by changing climatic patterns.

The above examples are just few amongst the many when research correlates data between the impacts of climate change and urban liveability. Indeed, there have been numerous recent studies (Alfredsson et al., 2018; Sofeska, 2017) that have focused upon these two pertinent aspects related to urban areas, and it is evident that climate change events have disrupted the liveability status and well-being of many cities. Besides increasing the aforementioned challenges, it is also understood that these patterns have had significant impacts upon air quality, economic development of urban areas, infrastructural investments, sometimes regional and international policy disruptions, natural and exotic terrestrial and aquatic animal communities, and most certainly upon the very backbone of environmental sustainability.

In regard to the economies of urban areas, there is a common understanding that cities are the backbone of most economies as drivers of GDP growth. UNCTAD (2018) explains that although cities occupy only less than 3% of habitable environments, they are responsible for over 80% of the GDP in most countries regardless of their development status. Therefore, negative events triggered by climate change have substantial impacts upon economies because it is from these economies that financial support to reconstruct, treat, compensate and invest in mitigation programmes is sourced. As Forzieri et al. (2018) and Z. Allam and Jones (2019) express, an economy suffers the most when even

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