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 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.

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