CitiesAdapt – Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation in Cities

Context

More than half of the global population live in cities and this figure looks set to increase to two thirds by 2050. Small and medium-sized cities in particular – home to around a quarter of the global population – are seeing considerable growth. They are increasingly spreading into the surrounding areas, also creating uncontrolled settlements.

These changes are giving rise to a number of challenges: climate change is exacerbating phenomena such as urban heat islands, flooding and water scarcity.

It is therefore vital to adapt cities to climate change. Local actors such as mayors and city staff need additional skills in this area, however. Moreover, the measures must be coordinated with regional and national governments to improve the general conditions for sustainable climate change adaptation in urban areas.

Objective

Small and medium-sized cities in Mexico and South Africa use nature-based and pro-poor solutions to adapt to climate change.

Approach

CitiesAdapt is supporting Mérida in Mexico and uMhlathuze in South Africa in moving towards climate-resistant and pro-poor urban development. The project is teaching key skills and promoting learning between cities in order to disseminate instruments and strategies for climate-resilient urban development. It is also assisting cities in implementing innovative demonstration projects in individual city districts.

In addition, the project promotes national and international exchange with other cities and organisations to support pro-poor and climate-resilient urban development. This exchange enables the model approaches created to be transferred to other secondary cities too, giving pro-poor and climate-resistant urban development and adaptation to climate change a higher priority on the political agenda.

Last update: September 2023