The Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs and UrbanShift today launched a new climate action guide for urban planners in a special session at the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo, Egypt.
A collaboration between C40 Cities and Community Jameel, and in coordination with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs – which are in Chennai in India and Amman in Jordan – aim to support cities in embedding climate action within their urban planning frameworks.
By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people are expected to live in cities. The scale and footprint of urban areas are growing up to 50% faster than their populations, creating vast and sprawling cities that lead to car dependency and high-emission lifestyles. Simultaneously, urban expansion in flood-prone areas is outpacing growth in safer zones, with 90% of urban expansion in developing countries happening in or near hazard-prone areas.
Recognising the urgency for action, the guide:
The new guide is available in Arabic, English, French, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.
C40 and Community Jameel introduced the guide at WUF12 during a jointly-convened session titled 'Navigating the polycrisis: Evidence-based policy for resilient cities'.
Facilitated by Hélène Chartier, director of urban planning and design at C40, the session’s panel featured Yousef Shawarbeh, mayor of Amman; Laia Bonet, deputy mayor of Barcelona for urbanism, ecological transition, mobility and housing; Ahmed Elsayed, executive director of J-PAL Middle East and North Africa; and Ahmed Abulaban, chief resilience officer and city director of Ramallah.
The climate action guide is set to be disseminated during international urban planning events, such as the C40 Mayors Summit in London in 2025. The guide aims to serve as an implementation tool at the local level for chief planners, deputy mayors, key city officials and planning teams in adapting their cities to climate change.
Yousef Shawarbeh, mayor of Amman, said: “Amman has experienced unprecedented growth over the last 100 years, growing from 5,000 inhabitants to more than 4 million. The citizens of Amman have observed the city's evolution and are aware of the challenges posed by such rapid development. In Amman and cities globally, it is the job of skilled urban planners to direct urban expansion in a way that promotes prosperity and fairness without compromising our shared planet. Amman is actively addressing this challenge by placing climate action at the heart of its new zoning and planning bylaw.”
Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and former chair of C40 Cities, said: “Urban planning is a powerful tool to tackle the climate crisis and create sustainable, equitable and resilient cities. By adjusting their urban planning regulations, local governments can mainstream the climate priorities identified in their climate action plan and transpose them into concrete actions and legally binding policies. When Paris began revising its urban plan (plan local d’urbanisme or PLU), I saw this as a key opportunity to balance urban development with environmental sustainability. Our new bioclimatic PLU exemplifies the transformative power of urban planning in combating the climate crisis. I hope that our bioclimatic PLU, much like this C40 guide, will serve as direction and inspiration for planners around the world to take bold, decisive actions.”
Hélène Chartier, C40 director of urban planning and design, said: “By the middle of the century, urban areas could triple in size, with significant consequences for natural ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions, and vulnerability to climate-related risks such as flooding, heatwaves, and water scarcity. Urban planners are therefore key climate champions: the decisions they make today will define cities’ capacities to meet climate goals and enhance quality of life for all residents, now and long into the future. This is why C40 is continuing to expand its support for planners in cities around the world. Our partnerships with Community Jameel and UrbanShift have led us to create the climate action guide for urban planners. I am delighted that we will be launching the guide together at the World Urban Forum in Cairo - the world’s premier conference on urbanisation.”
Cléa Daridan, head of arts and culture at Community Jameel, said: “As part of the Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs, Community Jameel is proud to publish the climate action guide for urban planners alongside UrbanShift. Launched at the World Urban Forum in Cairo, the guide will serve as a tool to accelerate sustainable, equitable and resilient urban planning policies serving ambitious and deliverable climate action around the world.”
Asher Lessels, head (a.i.) of the global environment facility climate mitigation unit, United Nations Environment Programme, said: “The planning of sustainable cities requires a multi-sectoral approach which ensures collaboration across sectors to address environmental, social and economic challenges. UrbanShift is supporting developing cities worldwide in this ambitious task by adopting integrated strategies for urban development so that both the people and the planet can thrive. This new guide is an inspiring and useful tool for city planners to shift from a ‘business-as-usual’ approach to one which effectively contributes to an equitable, zero-carbon and nature-positive future.”
