Heat Mitigation Planning and Governance in Increasingly Vulnerable Cities A Case Study of Vienna, Austria

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Description
The continued rise of temperatures and extreme heat events globally is contributing to increases in mortality and morbidity in every region of the world. Urban areas are experiencing the combined effects of anthropogenic climate change and the urban heat island

The continued rise of temperatures and extreme heat events globally is contributing to increases in mortality and morbidity in every region of the world. Urban areas are experiencing the combined effects of anthropogenic climate change and the urban heat island effect, exacerbating the risks associated with heat for urban residents. In response, cities must make every effort to adapt, pursuing engagement in high-quality planning processes and implementing robust sets of strategies to mitigate and manage the heat. Cities are shaped by networks of plans, however, the process of systematically evaluating these plans has focused on individual plans or plan types when assessing their quality. This study combines qualitative plan quality evaluation and semi-structured interviews to assess how Vienna’s network of plans addresses heat. Two clear divides emerge when analyzing the plan network; direction-setting principles are included more often than others, and mitigation strategies are more prevalent than management strategies. These results, which are consistent across the broader plan quality evaluation literature, illuminate a clear path for Vienna to continuously improve their planning process and effectively respond to heat.
Date Created
2023
Agent