Urban Planning 1

ROLE OF URBAN PLANNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

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The role of Urban Planning on Climate Change Mitigation

Urbanism as a concept used in urban planning emerged during the early 20th century

when it was used to describe how inhabitants of towns directly interacted with their build

environment. Louis Wirth published his research in 1938 titled Urbanism as a way of life where

he suggested the three fundamental characteristics of urban centers (Rogers, 2020). The three

characteristics include a social heterogeneity, a high population density, and a large population.

From the perspective of different researchers and thinkers, urban centers and cities have been

characterized using geographic sizes, population density, proliferation of specific building types,

recreational spaces, and integrated economies. These characteristics have been used to study the

development of urban areas and planning of contemporary urban centers. Urbanism has been

linked to professional literature dealing with the social design, physical, and management of

urban communities and structures. The professions associated with this literature include

architecture, urban design, engineering, urban planning, and heritage management. Thus, it has

been used to analyze and understand the functioning of cities and planned areas.

Existing literature on indigenous knowledge and practice suggests that local communities

and indigenous people have been adapting to climate-induced hazards for generations. Adapting

to these hazards has led them to develop situation-specific practices that enhance their resilience

towards climate change. Nevertheless, the world has experienced extreme climate changes that

have revealed the limitations associated with these practices, thus, motivating the contemporary

communities to combine modern scientific knowledge with indigenous practices to mitigate the

severity of climate change. Yet, urban planning as a discipline has ignored indigenous

knowledge and practices that can help mitigate climate change in the present context. Limitations

of indigenous knowledge and practices has been the main reason why contemporary urban
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planners are ignoring the important role that the preserved knowledge plays in mitigating climate

change.

One of the main reasons why indigenous technology and practice continues to be ignored

is lack of enough research on the viability of the methods used traditionally to control climate

change. Majority of indigenous communities started experiencing the impact of climate change

about two decades ago whereas governmental organizations and international agencies began

researching on the same issue about ten years ago (Porter, 2013). This means that the amount of

evidence that support the success of these indigenous technologies is limited, thus, such

knowledge and practice are not deemed to be effective. Notably, since indigenous communities

have limited experience on how they can integrate their knowledge and practices into modern

adaptation strategies, urban planners dismiss their practices stating that it is not supported by

documented evidence. Although indigenous communities documented their practices for future

references, the colonial quest of 1500s led to a massive erasure of these knowledge and

information. This led to limitation of available literature and information in the mitigation

strategies that indigenous communities used to mitigate climate change.

Several urban planning policies have been developed which do not support indigenous

practice that can help in mitigating climate change. Some of these policies do not favor the

integration of modern systems and traditional practices. For instance, affordable housing is one

of the current policies that significantly affects the integration of traditional practices in modern

urban planning. Through this policy, a lot of aboriginal communities have been misplaced from

their ancestral lands (Karki, Pokhrel & Adhikari, 2015). This was mainly experienced during the

colonial period when the colonialists forcefully took the lands of local people without their

consent. Urban planning as a discipline has encouraged the displacement of indigenous people
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and their technologies from planned areas, slowly leading to the extinction of their knowledge

and practices. Such policies need to be changed if the integration of modern technology and

indigenous practices need to be successful.

Several indigenous technologies are being used in planned urban areas to mitigate climate

change and its detrimental impact on environment. Indigenous communities used unique

landscape management practices that can have a positive impact on mitigating climate change in

planned urban spaces. The idea behind conventional practices was to promote conversation and

improve the quality of life. Cover-cropping is becoming a common practice that is being

embraced in most planned areas. Urban planners are using cover-cropping as a way of protecting

the soil. Additionally, agroforestry systems are being used in planned urban areas where trees are

planted along walkways, roads, parks, and other green spaces (Carrasco-Torrontegui et al.,

2021). Agroforestry was used by indigenous communities as an agricultural practice where trees

were planted on agricultural landscapes. However, in the case of urban planning, trees are

planted in green spaces where occupants can enjoy the shaded area for resting.

Another indigenous practice that is being used by urban planner is regenerative

agricultural practices. Regenerative agriculture plays a key role in mitigating climate change in

contemporary cities by sequestering carbon in the soil. Regenerative agricultural practices

integrate a broad array of agricultural concepts which when combined increase crop yield while

at the same time reducing carbon emission (Carrasco-Torrontegui et al., 2021). The main

motivation behind using indigenous agricultural practices in controlling climate change is to cut

on cost since conventional practices are less costly. Also, they are environment-friendly,

meaning they have minimal environmental impact. Such technologies and practices need to be
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integrated in contemporary urban planning practices if current planners need to mitigate climate

change effectively.

In conclusion, contemporary urban planning has neglected indigenous technologies and

practices in mitigating climate change using both modern and traditional practices. Urbanism

which started during the early 20th century has helped in enhancing the knowledge of urban

planners in understanding how planned areas can be integrated to reduce the severity of climate

change. Contemporary urban planners have neglected traditional practices since they argue that

there is no enough evidence that can support indigenous practices. Colonial quest was the main

reason for the extinction of indigenous knowledge which could be used to mitigate climate

change. Also, policies such as affordable housing have played a critical part in eliminating the

use of indigenous technology in modern urban planning. However, indigenous practice such as

cover-cropping, agroforestry, and regenerative agriculture are some of the indigenous practices

that can be integrated into contemporary urban planning.

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References

Carrasco-Torrontegui, A., Gallegos-Riofrío, C.A., Delgado-Espinoza, F. and Swanson, M., 2021.

Climate Change, Food Sovereignty, and Ancestral Farming Technologies in the

Andes. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(Supplement_4), pp.54-60.

The article focuses on how indigenous societies and technologies are critical in

addressing the issue of climate change in urban planning. While indigenous population

are most vulnerable to climate change, they have the potential of addressing climate

change. The authors argue that ancestral farming play a fundamental role in addressing

mitigation and adaptation of climate changes in the contemporary world.

Karki, M., Pokhrel, P. and Adhikari, J. (2015). CLIMATE CHANGE: INTEGRATING

INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL KNOWLEDGE INTO ADAPTATION POLICIES AND

PRACTICES A case study from Nepal. [online]. Available at:

https://www.cabi.org/Uploads/CABI/OpenResources/91797/Finished

%20A10%20Karki.pdf.

The article provides a case study of how Nepal has integrated several policy adaptations

practices that consider both indigenous and modern practices. The article has identified

several reasons why indigenous practices have been ignored in contemporary urban

planning. Also, the researchers, have identified how modern urban planners can use both

contemporary and traditional practices in improving urban centers.

Porter, L., 2013. Coexistence in cities: The challenge of Indigenous urban planning in the

twenty-first century. In Walking Backwards into the Future: Indigenous Approaches to

Community and Land Use Planning in the Twenty-first Century (pp. 281-310). McGill

Queens University Press.

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In this article, the author investigates the challenges that are defining the coexistence of

contemporary urban planning practices with indigenous practices. The 21st century urban

planning has advanced in several ways which has created a gap between indigenous

practices and modern urban planning practices. As a result, the author suggests that there

is need to restructuring and reframing the modern practices to ensure their integrate both

traditional and contemporary practices.

Rogers, D., 2020. Understanding Urbanism. In Understanding Urbanism (pp. 1-13). Palgrave

Macmillan, Singapore.

In this article, the author investigates how aboriginal context of urban planning can be

integrated into modern urban planning. The author starts by understanding the difference

between urbanization and urbanism and the relationship between social functions and

physical form of urban centers. The article is a key contribution to the understanding of

how contemporary urban planners can uses urbanism in enhancing the sustainability of

cities.