Climate Aspects in Urban Land-Use Planning

Through increasing building and population densities, the expansion of the settlement area in urban areas, a shift in the age structure, and an increase of extreme weather events caused by climate change, the urban population will increasingly be exposed to environmental stress. Climate-induced effects (i. e. heat periods, torrential rain) are further exacerbated within the city centre as a result of high degrees of soil sealing, a reduced exchange of air, and an increased air pollution.

One of the biggest challenges in the field of urban land use planning will be to find solutions for these climate-inducted effects. In Germany there are two scale levels of urban land use planning. The overall urban development is defined at the scale of the city. This planning is specified in the zone plan by setting the legal bindings for the small-scale development, infrastructure areas, and open space structures. Enhancing the climate aspects of planning the German legislator included the climate protection clause into the building code (BauGB). This change in 2011 should contribute to take account of climate protection and adaptation, particularly in urban development, through concepts and the concrete definition of building measures.

The legislator has also included specific fixing options for climate adaptation in § 9 para. 1 BauGB, which regulates the contents of the development plan. As a result, urban land use planning offers good opportunities for the implementation of comprehensively integrated spatial climate protection and climate adaptation concepts in urban areas. In planning practice, however, often due to a lack of concern or ignorance, the climatic concerns are given little importance. Therefore, a systematic and structured approach is needed to respond and act on current and future challenges.