Urban Climate-Responsive Planning & Design: A Didactic Approach to Mitigation and Adaptation Synergies

Urban areas must meet CO₂ emission reduction targets while also enhancing thermal comfort, increasing resilience to urban flooding, and addressing other climate challenges. However, limited space is further strained by future urban growth, creating additional constraints for implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies. A holistic approach that integrates resilient urban design, climate adaptation, and renewable energy solutions is therefore essential. This principle forms the core of our urban climate design-focused course.

Our MSc course in the Landscape Architecture & Planning program embraces this challenge by integrating energy fluxes and (micro)climate design strategies, emphasizing the synergies between mitigation and adaptation. Students engage in hands-on calculations to assess renewable energy potential—solar radiation, wind, hydropower, and tidal energy—and explore how their availability shifts across seasons. Just as urban thermal comfort fluctuates between day and night, these variations require adaptive urban design strategies. Through real-world case studies in Dutch neighborhoods, students apply their insights to climate-vulnerable communities with specific socio-economic characteristics.

Our didactic methodology provides two key scientific foundations: Climate Science and Energy Science. These areas of knowledge equip students to develop urban design strategies that optimize energy harvesting, enhance thermal comfort, and reduce wind nuisance, effectively bridging climate and energy science with practical applications in urban areas. A key element of our didactic approach is the interaction with municipalities and practitioners, fostering a dynamic learning exchange. This "win-win" setup encourages students to think beyond conventional solutions, while professionals engage in lifelong learning, applying cutting-edge climate strategies in practice.

This presentation will showcase the course outcomes and our innovative didactic methodology, illustrating how this framework fosters synergies between mitigation and adaptation. It aims to inspire stakeholders and policymakers to embrace interdisciplinary lifelong learning programs that bridge research and real-world climate action.