Urbanization Interactions with Climate Change: Impacts and Path forward

Keywords: Urbanization, Climate Change, Environment, Impact

Abstract

This research examines the interaction of urbanization and climate change, emphasizing in many respects how uncontrolled urbanization compromises human welfare and environmental sustainability. Cities are major sources of local climatic events and greenhouse pollutants as they consume natural resources in their development. Based on numerous studies, this study provides a meta-analysis of patterns of urbanization and their link with climate change indicators. The discussion reveals how urbanization not only aggravates climate change but also presents unique opportunities and challenges for sustainable development. It asserts that cities have to find inventive ways to mitigate the negative environmental consequences of urbanization. Improving green infrastructure, sustainable transportation systems, and employing innovative urban design approaches are other important strategies under debate. Moreover, the study helps to establish the emerging best practices and the policy frameworks, protocols, standard operating procedures, and other resources valuable for urban planners, lawmakers, and stakeholders to promote sustainability in cities. This paper seeks to provide some workable suggestions for decision makers as well as to motivate team efforts to address the challenges urbanization poses with climate change. The report emphasized the importance of cooperative approaches to balance ecological preservation with metropolitan development. It promotes a 'life-over-growth' paradigm shift in urban planning and development to offer a sustainable future for urban people under changing temperatures. This addition by so doing builds the current body of work, discussion, and practices on sustainable urbanization which altogether is critical to create resilient cities for the next generations which can withstand and navigate the climate and environmental challenges of tomorrow.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Cao, S., & Li, C. (2011). The exploration of concepts and methods for low-carbon eco-city planning. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 5, 199–207.

Chen, M., Xian, Y., Wang, P., & Ding, Z. (2021). Climate change and multi-dimensional sustainable urbanization. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 31(9), 1328–1348.

Cullis, J. D. S., Horn, A., Rossouw, N., Fisher-Jeffes, L., Kunneke, M. M., & Hoffman, W. (2019). Urbanisation, climate change and its impact on water quality and economic risks in a water scarce and rapidly urbanising catchment: Case study of the Berg River catchment. H2Open Journal, 2(1), 146–167.

Davoudi, S., & Sturzaker, J. (2017). Urban form, policy packaging and sustainable urban metabolism. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 120, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2017.01.011

Debnath, K. B., Jenkins, D. P., Patidar, S., Peacock, A., & Bridgens, B. (2023). Climate change, extreme heat, and South Asian megacities: Impact of heat stress on inhabitants and their productivity. Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4064021

Degórska, B., & Degórski, M. (2018). Influence of climate change on environmental hazards and human well-being in the urban areas: Warsaw case study versus general problems. In B. Degórska & M. Degórski (Eds.), Urban Development (pp. 43–57). Springer, Cham.

EPA. (2023). Urban Heat Island Basics. United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Greenwalt, J., Raasakka, N., & Alverson, K. (2018). Building urban resilience to address urbanization and climate change. In J. Greenwalt, N. Raasakka, & K. Alverson (Eds.), Climate Adaptation and Resilience (pp. 151–164). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811891-7.00012-8

Grimmond, C. S. B., Ward, H. C., & Kotthaus, S. (2015). How is urbanization altering local and regional climate? University of Reading.

Gupta, P. K., & Khan, M. (2020). Urbanization and urban growth in India: A critical review. Journal of Regional Development and Planning, 9, 73–86.

Helbling, M., & Meierrieks, D. (2022). Global warming and urbanization. Journal of Population Economics, 36(3), 1187–1223.

IPCC. (2023). Climate change 2023: Mitigation of climate change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Kahn, M. E. (2009). Urban growth and climate change. California Centre for Population Research, 1(1), 333–350. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV.RESOURCE.050708.144249

Kaur, R., & Pandey, P. (2021). Air pollution, climate change, and human health in Indian cities: A brief review. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/FRSC.2021.705131

Li, G. (2024). Sustainable development strategies in urban planning. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences, 96(1), 107–111. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/96/2024mur0118

Li, X., Stringer, L. C., & Dallimer, M. (2022). The impacts of urbanisation and climate change on the urban thermal environment in Africa. Climate, 10(11), 164.

Liu, X., Pei, F., Wen, Y., Li, X., Li, X., Li, X., Wang, S., Wang, S., Wu, C., Cai, Y., Wu, J., Chen, J., Feng, K., Liu, J., Hubacek, K., Davis, S. J., Yuan, W., Yu, L., & Liu, Z. (2019). Global urban expansion offsets climate-driven increases in terrestrial net primary productivity. Nature Communications, 10(1), 5558. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41467-019-13462-1

Manoli, G., Fatichi, S., Schläpfer, M., Yu, K., Crowther, T. W., Meili, N., Burlando, P., Katul, G. G., & Bou-Zeid, E. (2019). Magnitude of urban heat islands largely explained by climate and population. Nature, 573(7772), 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41586-019-1512-9

Martos, A., Pacheco-Torres, R., Ordóñez, J., & Jadraque-Gago, E. (2016). Towards successful environmental performance of sustainable cities: Intervening sectors. A review. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 57, 479–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2015.12.095

McCarthy, M., Best, M., & Betts, R. (2010). Climate change in cities due to global warming and urban effects. Geophysical Research Letters, 37(9). https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL042845

McDonald, R. I., Kareiva, P., Forman, R. T. T., et al. (2019). Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity. Nature Sustainability, 2, 1048–1053. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0436-6

Newman, P., & Kenworthy, J. (1999). Sustainability and cities: Overcoming automobile dependence. Island Press.

Patel, S. (2017). Urban growth and sprawl in Delhi-NCR region: A comparative analysis. Journal of Urban and Regional Analysis, 9, 191–206.

Roy, A., & Alsayed, A. A. (2019). The political ecology of urban development: Infrastructure and everyday life in Dharavi, Mumbai. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 43, 329–347.

Tiwari, P., Arora, A., & Nagpal, K. (2023). Interrelationship of climate change and urbanization. In A. K. Sharma, A. Sharma, & S. B. Bahukhandi (Eds.), i-Converge: Changing dimensions of the built environment. Routledge.

Udoinyang, N. (2025). Climate change, ecosystem and the economy of Nigeria. Existentia: Concrescence Journal of Arts and Humanities, 3(1), 12–23.

Udoinyang, N. (2025). The economic impact of climate change on coastal communities in Rivers State: A survey method. Journal of Soil, Plant and Environment, 4(1), 31–43.

UN-Habitat. (2020). World cities report 2020: The value of sustainable urbanization. UN-Habitat.

United Nations. (2018). 2018 revision of world urbanization prospects. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

United Nations. (2022). World urbanization prospects: The 2022 revision. United Nations.

World Bank. (2010). World development report 2010: Development and climate change. World Bank.

Yang, X., & Shen, J. (2018). Urban land expansion and its driving factors in China: A comparative study of Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. Habitat International, 71, 11–21.

Zhang, Y., Yao, Z., Groffman, P. M., Xie, J., Wang, Y., Li, G.-Z., Zheng, X., & Butterbach-Bahl, K. (2023). Urbanization can accelerate climate change by increasing soil N2O emission while reducing CH4 uptake. Global Change Biology, 29, 3489–3502.

Published
2025-06-30
How to Cite
Udoinyang, N. (2025). Urbanization Interactions with Climate Change: Impacts and Path forward. Social Empowerment Journal, 7(2), 26-39. https://doi.org/10.34118/sej.v7i2.4274
Section
Articles