2 Urban Sustainability

Understanding Cities: Advances in integrated assessment of urban sustainability The urgent need to reconfigure urban areas to consume fewer resources, generate less pollution, be more resilient to the impacts of extreme events and become more sustainable in general, is widely recognised. To address these issues, requires integrated thinking across a range of urban systems, topics, issues and perspectives that are traditionally considered separately. This book introduces key results from the European Science Foundation funded COST Action TU0902 network that brought together researchers and practitioners involved in urban integrated assessment. Using case studies, theoretical approaches and reporting experience from across Europe this book explores the challenges and opportunities of urban integrated assessment through four perspectives: (i) Quantified integrated assessment modelling; (ii) Climate change adaptation and mitigation; (iii) Green and blue infrastructure; and, (iv) Urban policy and governance. The book closes by outlining priorities for future research and development and presents a generic framework for urban integrated assessment to analyse the potential benefits and trade-offs of sustainability policies and interventions. This book may be cited as: Dawson RJ, Wyckmans A, Heidrich O, Köhler J, Dobson S and Feliu E (2014) Understanding Cities: Advances in integrated assessment of urban sustainability, Final Report of COST Action TU0902, Centre for Earth Systems Engineering Research (CESER), Newcastle, UK. ISBN 978-0-9928437-0-0. Cover art by: Christine Jeans, Newcastle University Published in 2014 by the Centre for Earth Systems Engineering Research (CESER), Newcastle University Understanding Cities: Advances in integrated assessment of urban sustainability Editors: Richard Dawson, Newcastle University, U.K. Annemie Wyckmans, NTNU, Norway Oliver Heidrich, Newcastle University, U.K. Jonathan Köhler, ISI Fraunhofer, Germany Stephen Dobson, Sheffield Hallam University, U.K. Efren Feliu, Tecnalia, Spain This publication is supported by COST ESF provides the COST Office support through an EC contract COST is supported by the EU RTD framework programme COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology is an intergovernmental framework aimed at facilitating the collaboration and networking of scientists and researchers at European level. It was established in 1971 by 19 member countries and currently includes 35 member countries across Europe, and Israel as a cooperating state. COST funds pan-European, bottom- up networks of scientists and researchers across all science and technology fields. These networks, called 'COST Actions', promote international coordination of nationally-funded research. By fostering the networking of researchers at an international level, COST enables break-through scientific developments leading to new concepts and products, thereby contributing to strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities. COST’s mission focuses in particular on: Building capacity by connecting high quality scientific communities throughout Europe and worldwide; Providing networking opportunities for early career investigators; Increasing the impact of research on policy makers, regulatory bodies and national decision makers as well as the private sector. Through its inclusiveness, COST supports the integration of research communities, leverages national research investments and addresses issues of global relevance. Every year thousands of European scientists benefit from being involved in COST Actions, allowing the pooling of national research funding to achieve common goals. As a precursor of advanced multidisciplinary research, COST anticipates and complements the activities of EU Framework Programmes, constituting a “bridge” towards the scientific communities of emerging countries. In particular, COST Actions are also open to participation by non-European scientists coming from neighbour countries (for example Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine) and from a number of international partner countries. COST's budget for networking activities has traditionally been provided by successive EU RTD Framework Programmes. COST is currently executed by the European Science Foundation (ESF) through the COST Office on a mandate by the European Commission, and the framework is governed by a Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) representing all its 35 member countries. More information about COST is available at www.cost.eu © COST Office, 2014 No permission to reproduce or utilise the contents of this book by any means is necessary, other than in the case of images, diagrams or other material from other copyright holders. In such cases, permission of the copyright holders is required. Neither the COST Office nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use which might be made of the information contained in this publication. The COST Office is not responsible for the external websites referred to in this publication. ii Declaration by the authors and editors Understanding Cities: Advances in integrated assessment of urban sustainability COST Action TU0902 We, the authors, editors and/or owners of copyright of this Publication, wishing to have the Publication published and distributed by COST, make the following representations and warranties: 1. We have made all necessary inquiries, and have obtained all necessary copyright licenses and authorisations to include material in the Publication for which other persons own copyright. 2. We have made all necessary inquiries, and have identified all authors and owners of copyright in the Publication. 3. We have made all necessary inquiries, and the Publication does not libel or violate the privacy rights of any third party. 4. We have informed all copyright owners in the Publication of this Author Declaration, and we have obtained authorisation from all copyright owners to execute this declaration on behalf of all copyright owners in the Publication. 5. We will indemnify COST and/or its legal entity ESF, from any and all claims arising from publication of the Publication, including but not limited to libel and copyright or moral rights infringement. 6. We represent and warrant that the Publication has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. 7. We agree to the publication and use of our names and e-mail addresses filled in below for promotional purposes and grant COST and/or its legal entity ESF the permission to publish extracts of the publication as necessary to fulfil this purpose. iii iv Contents List of figures vii List of tables ix Preface xi Section I: Understanding Cities: The imperative for integration 1 Section II: A review and analysis of quantitative integrated 13 environmental assessment methods for urban areas Section III: Adaptation and mitigation – how addressing 41 climate issues stimulates integrated thinking Section III-1: Urban climate change response and the impact of 45 climate networks in Europe Box III-1: Comparing emissions from 9 European cities and their bus 53 fleets Section III-2: Evaluation of climate change plans and actions across 55 cities Section III-3: Mitigating climate change in Italy: a cluster analysis of 65 urban responses Box III-2 - Modelling atmospheric and aqueous emissions in Riga 75 Section III-4: Multi-level climate governance and urban climate 77 action Box III-3: The Climate Engagement Index (CEI) 89 Section IV: Green and blue infrastructures as enablers of 91 resilient cities Section IV-1 – Green infrastructure as a tool of urban areas 94 sustainable development v Box IV-1: Eco-spatial indices - green infrastructure site scale 109 solutions Section IV-2: Planning measures for ecosystem-based adaptation 110 capacity of cities: a comparative study Section IV-3: Sustainability indicators for urban water environments 131 Section IV-4 : Evidence on the contribution of green urban 140 infrastructure to climate change mitigation and adaptation Section V: A policy and governance context for integrated 167 urban sustainability strategies Section VI: Understanding Cities: The way forward for 199 integrated assessment vi ListofFigures Section I Figure 1.1 COST Action TU0902 member countries. The Action also had affiliate members from 4 RMIT, Australia and Columbia University, U.S.A. Figure 1.2 Number of network members with particular expertise 9 Section II Figure 2.1 Conceptualised efficient urban system model. 17 Figure 2.2 Overview of the Urban Integrated Assessment Facility applied in London (U.K.). 18 Figure 2.3 Assessment of expected annual damage from flood risk in London. 28 Figure 2.4 Managed growth with protection scenario prediction for 2040 in Izmir. 29 Figure 2.5 The Luxembourg Energy Air Quality (LEAQ). 31 Figure 2.6 Example of Paris urban development scenario. 32 Figure 2.7 Area-based division of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region. 32 Figure 2.8 Description of NEDUM-2D model. 37 Section III Figure 3.1.1 City location, climate change plans, and emission reduction targets for 195 of the 200 50 Urban Audit cities. Figure B3.1.1 CO2 emissions for each city’s diesel bus fleet. 53 Figure B3.1.2 CO2 emissions (tons) for the different biodiesel blends – logarithmic scale. 54 Figure B3.1.3 CO2 emissions and population density. 54 Figure 3.2.1 Examples of international and national targets; Emission reduction targets by

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