ADAPTING CITIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES
This is a notable book, which should be read by any engineer seeking an accessible literature review on the new environmental challenges facing us all, and particularly those who are least able to adapt in time without significant targeted support: the urban poor. It should also provide detailed background to anyone seeking either an all-encompassing reference document on the topic of adapting to climate change or a detailed insight into the development intricacies of a specific geographical location.
The book is prefaced by a well-constructed introduction, providing some detailed definitions of terms, followed by a compendium of approximately 10 global case studies (of various sizes) highlighting the increasing challenges faced by the low- and middle-income urban populations as climate change begins to bite. These are interspersed with three further chapters examining issues common to all areas, such as ‘Water management for urban resilience’.
Most examples and topics will not surprise anyone familiar with the complexities of cities and the forthcoming climate issues, however the evidence contained therein will provide influential guidance to anyone designing infrastructure to withstand not only nature's normal variability, but the new extremes that until very recently have only been theorised. Indeed, this wealth of evidence is probably the book's greatest strength.
One criticism that can be levelled at the book is that repetition of the reasoning for the choice made by poorer city-dwellers to live in areas more prone to natural disaster can make the book an unrewarding read if attempt is made to tackle it from cover to cover. However, this is not how the authors intended the book to be used, and such repetition allows independent sections to stand alone in order to be quickly dipped into for a rapid enrichment on a certain topic or geographical area.
As this book crucially points out, without a detailed knowledge of the specific needs and nature of a certain conurbation, proposing a solution that is ‘maladapted’ to climate change, thus increasing long-term suffering, is all too easy. This book delivers this vital, pre-packaged knowledge so that wastes of valuable time and finance can be minimised wherever humanly possible.
