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Pacific Small Island Developing States are often referred to as the “frontline” of climate change, facing an array of worsening climate-related shocks and stressors. However, despite their underlying exposure to climate change impacts, the role of Pacific Island cities as both an avenue for adaptation and sites of climate vulnerability is often overlooked. This paper reflects on two ongoing participatory action research projects conducted by UN-Habitat and research partners from Australian universities in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and Port Vila, Vanuatu. Findings from community consultations across 16 communities in these settings demonstrate the critical role of endogenous modes of resilience, as well as the strong correlation between these spaces and sub-city climate vulnerability. Cross-scale integration with climate resilience planning processes is then used to examine points of conflict between stakeholder interpretations of core functions within socioecological systems, demonstrating the importance of considering values and conflict within urban climate adaptation.

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This article was published in the Climate and Development journal [© 2014 Taylor & Francis Online] and the definite version is available at : http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.886991 The article website is at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17565529.2014.886991Vietnam and Bangladesh are countries already impacted by weather-related extreme events. Scientific modelling projections indicate that climate change, and changes to climate variability, will increase risks for both countries in the future. Targeting this challenging contemporary agenda, this paper reflects on the lessons learned from a collaborative research project, funded by the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research, which was carried out jointly in the Vietnamese city of Huế and the Bangladeshi city of Satkhira. The focus on secondary cities was intentional as they face unique challenges – a combination of rapid growth and development, adverse climate-related impacts, and in many cases less institutional adaptive capacity than their primary city counterparts. Whilst numerous assessment tool kits already exist, these have typically been developed for rural or natural resource contexts. Therefore, the objective of this action research activity was to develop a flexible suite of participatory assessment tools and methodologies that were refined specifically for the urban context; as well as being easy to use by local practitioners at the city and neighbourhood scales. This paper summarizes the research and stakeholder engagement activity that was carried out before presenting the main findings from each of the case study cities (detailing both climate-related risks and potential adaptation options). This analysis is further extended to include a reflective critique of the assessment process, a comparative analysis of the activity carried out in the two case studies, and the ‘South–South’ learning process that occurred between project partners. Key findings are then distilled to put forward recommendations in support of climate change assessment activity in secondary cities across the Asia-Pacific region.Publishe

City action is critical to achieving global visions for sustainability such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, SDG ‘localisation’ is complex procedure, with divergent outcomes depending on context and diverse city processes. This paper considers the operational challenges faced by city actors in taking on the SDGs, and subsequent implications for initiating local (and global) sustainability transitions. We analyse emergent approaches to SDG localisation within the Asia–Pacific, using a policy analysis framework (transition management) to assess transformation potential. We find that SDG localisation can influence urban sustainability, but effective implementation requires sufficient data, resourcing, and guidance—which are not readily, nor equally available to all city governments. City-to-city peer learning can accelerate SDG uptake, but realising the transformative ambition set out by the SDGs will require an approach to localisation that clearly demonstrates why and how any city government can and should engage with global sustainability frameworks.

Informal settlements are on the frontline in the battle against climate change. Home to one billion people, their infrastructure deprivations pose challenges for the health and resilience of communities and ecosystems. Upgrading of informal settlements can improve urban services and infrastructure, strengthen tenure security, and empower local communities. This chapter examines the conceptual and practice relationships between climate resilience and in-situ upgrading. It critiques prevailing approaches, which centre upon threshold, coping, recovery, and adaptive capacities. Transformative capacity offers greater scope for addressing climate change impacts at a level commensurate with the size of the challenge, and for redressing the entrenched structural inequalities and deep socio-spatial injustices shaping cities in the Global South that perpetuate vulnerability and socio-spatial exclusion. Five elements are identified to advance transformative informal settlement upgrading: socio-technical innovation; a climate justice framing; greater attention to intersectional dimensions; inclusive governance and community empowerment; and fit for purpose finance.

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Purpose There is a growing interest in climate change action in the higher education sector. Higher education institutions (HEIs) play an important role as property owners, employers, education and research hubs as well as leaders of societal transformations. The purpose of this paper was therefore to benchmark how universities globally are addressing climate risks. Design/methodology/approach An international survey was conducted to benchmark the sector’s organisational planning for climate change and to better understand how the higher education sector contributes to local-level climate adaptation planning processes. The international survey focused especially on the assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation plans. Findings Based on the responses of 45 HEIs located in six different countries on three continents, the study found that there are still very few tertiary institutions that plan for climate-related risks in a systematic way. Originality/value The paper sheds light on the barriers HEIs face in engaging in climate adaptation planning and action. Some of the actions to overcome such hindering factors include integrating climate adaptation in existing risk management and sustainability planning processes, using the internal academic expertise and curriculum to assist the mapping of climate change impacts and collaborating with external actors to guarantee the necessary resources. The higher education sector can act as a leader in building institutional resilience at the local scale.