Considering climate justice in NbS planning for metropolitan heat risk reduction? A participatory GIS approach

Urban heat islands (UHI), which can be exacerbated by extreme heat events, pose a growing risk to metropolitan regions worldwide. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are an adaptive solution to UHI. However, the equitable distribution of NbS benefits to address UHI can be obstructed if stakeholders are not sufficiently engaged in a participatory and just planning process. Excluding justice considerations weakens the ability of NbS to deliver benefits to those most vulnerable to heat and may create or entrench existing environmental and socioeconomic disparities. In the case of addressing UHI in metropolitan regions, there is a strong need for NbS planning approaches for heat that can account for landscape diversity while strengthening the equitable distribution of NbS benefits. However, planning approaches depend on the decision-making and preferences of relevant stakeholders, who may be more or less interested in ensuring equitable outcomes.

There is a lack of research on understanding how stakeholders are currently integrating climate justice into NbS preferences and decision-making. This research addresses this critical gap by assessing the degree of climate justice consideration in NbS planning for heat across several European metropolitan regions representing different biogeographical and climatic regions. We use surveys to investigate stakeholder preferences for NbS to address urban heat, as well as which NbS benefits and implementation criteria should be prioritized in planning. Participatory geospatial mapping is also deployed to better understand stakeholders’ perceptions of where and why current NbS in their metropolitan regions are effective against heat risk and to identify areas that need NbS benefits. Through these methods, we assess the relative strength of stakeholders’ consideration of climate justice in their preferences and perceptions. We present our methodology and preliminary results which lead to a research agenda on climate justice and participatory NbS planning.