Senior Sequence

Climate Change and Human Settlements: The Mitigation/Adaptation Conundrum

Special Issue of Habitat International on Climate Change and Human Settlements: The Mitigation/Adaptation Conundrum.

We are seeking paper submissions for a special issue of Habitat International that addresses the expected dual role of human settlements to simultaneously mitigate climate change and adapt to global warming. As consumers of energy and producers of greenhouse gases human settlements (cities, towns, villages) are at the center of the climate change crisis. The IPCC 4^th Report (2007) further stresses the need for a fundamental transition in the structure and functioning of built environments to simultaneously mitigate climate change and adapt to the effects of global warming. Yet, mitigation and adaptation may not always be compatible with each other and, in some cases, they may actually be oppositional (e.g. an urban form optimal to mitigate climate change may not be the best to adapt the same settlement to the negative effects of global warming in its geographical location). This poses a conundrum for planners and designers dealing with human settlements and climate change.

The new chapter in the IPCC 4^th Report "Inter-Relationships Between Adaptation and Mitigation" (Ch. 18) readily acknowledges this challenge and identifies the urgent need to create synergies between adaptation and mitigation while acknowledging the difficulty of such interrelationship. We invite papers to shed light on this new planning challenge as it relates to urban-regional planning, urban design and development in Developed and Developing Countries at all scales of development (from metropolitan to rural).

Some of the themes and questions that we would like to see addressed in the submissions are:

· Theoretical perspectives to look at the mitigation/adaptation paradox
· Trade-offs of mitigation VS. adaptation.
· Urban form transformations to address mitigation and adaptation.
· Emerging sub-fields in the built environment disciplines to address mitigation/adaptation to climate change.
· Organizational restructuring of planning agencies to respond to adaptation and mitigation.
· Can adaptation and mitigation be addressed simultaneously?
· What analytical frameworks are appropriate for evaluating the links between adaptation and mitigation?
· Can the notion of 'sustainable development' be the answer to address adaptation and mitigation simultaneously?

· Should the approach to mitigation be different in countries of the "North" and those of the "South" (given the stark differences in their contributions to the greenhouse effect and in their capacities to adapt to global warming)?

· Should cities in the global "South" give priority to adaptation over mitigation?
· When and where would mitigation strategies yield positive outcomes for adaptation?
· What are the unintended consequences of linking adaptation to mitigation policies at global, regional and local scales?

· Is an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) viable for urban development in the face of climate change?
· Would adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change split the urban field into corresponding separate normative theories?

· Specific examples where the mitigation/adaptation problem has been (or is being) resolved.

Scholars in all fields of planning, urban and rural design and development with focus on Developing or Developed countries wishing to submit proposals should send a 150- to 300-word abstract (no references needed) to the editor of this special issue, Dr Rafael E Pizarro (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). au) at the University of Sydney, by March 20, 2008. By April 1, 2008, the editor will invite the authors of a subset of these proposals to submit full papers. Final papers must be received at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). au or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by June 1, 2008. Papers determined to have potential for publication will receive a normal Habitat International blind peer review; invitation to submit a paper does not imply a decision to review or acceptance for publication.

Final articles should be 6,000 to 8,000 words in length, inclusive of notes and references. The material submitted can be theoretical, empirical, comparative, or based on case study. We also encourage manuscripts employing interdisciplinary approaches.

Final submissions must follow the instructions to authors and editorial style prescribed in the journal website at

http://129.35.76.177/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/479/description#description

-----