The focus of the Cities and Climate Change theme is twofold.

• First, it analyses the possibilities for reducing carbon emissions through changing the nature of our cities - how they are planned and built; how they are managed and serviced, and what activities take place within them.
• Second, it researches the changes that need to be made at the city level to adapt the built environment and its functions to climate change, and make cities more resilient.

The Cities and Climate Change group is concerned with policy, planning and practices for cities. They are interested in how current patterns of urban governance are implicated in climate change and how they can be altered to achieve better mitigation and adaptation. Within this, they are particularly interested in the role that knowledge and technological innovation play. They will be examining how policy, planning and practice, on the one hand, and knowledge, information and innovation, on the other, mutually influence each other and how interaction can lead to more sustainable outcomes. The work undertaken within the Environment Institute focuses spatially on cities, the urban and the built environment.

Current Projects

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors: Global Zero Carbon Capacity Index  

The Communications Group: Better Living Research Report

Hermes Property Unit Trust: Climate Change and UK Property Investment

Zero Carbon Homes: Funded by UCL Grand Challenges

The Environment Institute: Megalopolises and Sustainability Seminar Series

Other reports can be downloaded from the Cities and Climate Change projects pages - click here