Integrated framework for urban design adaptation and mitigation assessment (IUDAMA)

Climate change is reshaping urban systems, affecting buildings, infrastructure, natural systems, people and businesses while cities, in turn, drive climate change through high energy consumption and gas emissions (GHG) emissions from buildings, energy production, waste management, and transportation. Urban design is crucial for integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, yet existing environmental assessment frameworks and rating systems often address them separately, overlooking site-specific vulnerabilities and emission drivers.

The proposed Integrated Urban Design Adaptation and Mitigation Assessment (IUDAMA) framework fills this gap by incorporating quantitative and qualitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to quantify built environment (BE) vulnerabilities and emission sources. These KPIs aim to guide designers in assessing and integrating adequate climate-responsive measures, supporting informed decision-making for resilient and low-carbon urban development. This has been applied to real case studies of master planning that focus on high-density mixed-use regeneration projects and high-rise mixed-use development in in different Local Climate Zones (LCZ) in order to evaluate climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in design scenarios for urban regeneration and new urban developments.

The results suggest that KPIs that include multiple scales and risks are able to effectively assess the BEs capacity to simultaneously adapt and mitigate climate change. These KPIs should be prioritized throughout optioneering studies during planning, and the design stages. Massing, siting and orientation, as well as green, blue and grey solutions for buildings and open spaces, should be at the center of urban planning and design. These solutions future proof our cities and related assets, not only by limiting the risks from a changing climate and by reducing the GHG emissions but also by unlocking spaces for everyone for decades to come.