Climate-sensitive Urban Development

Cities are often referred to as ‘hotspots of the climate crisis’: While cities account for up to 70% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the urban population and infrastructure are exposed to increased risks due to the intensification of negative climate impacts such as heat waves, heavy rainfall and sea level rise. Therefore, cities are not only crucial for mitigating climate change, but must also adapt to its consequences in order to ensure a safe living environment. The entirety of strategies and measures for mitigating and adapting to climate change in urban areas is referred to as ‘climate-sensitive urban development’.

This seminar focuses on the interactions between urban areas and climate change at different scales (local to global) and in different spheres (atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, anthroposphere) of the Earth system. It aims to provide an overview and in-depth examples of key concepts, challenges and solutions in climate-friendly urban development. Based on conceptual and methodological input from an interdisciplinary group of experts and local actors, students will apply the concepts and methods discussed in problem-solving-oriented project work to local examples in Bern, with a particular focus on the ‘UrbanLab’

Target group: Master's students in geography and climate sciences with basic knowledge of climatology (e.g. ‘Climatology I & II)