Page 198 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 1
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Urban Growth - Climate Change
is inevitable, and mentions that the vulnerability of urban population will
also increase. It is also emphasized that local administrations play a key
role in adapting to the effects of climate change through mitigation. Local
administrations can manage urban growth and identify the risks involved in
climate change. Thus, it is argued that urban growth policies are related to
climate change adaptation policies.
Another body creating climate change adaptation policies is IPCC.
According to Revi et al (2014: 17), who also contributed to IPCC 5th Report,
climate change results in environmental risks which are outcomes of urban
growth, increasing pollution and demands on resources. In order to deal with
the effects of climate change, cities should adapt to these changes in various
ways according to their own local dynamics. For instance, urban growth policies
should be rearranged based on climate change adaptation policies. Moreover,
local and national government decisions should discuss short term benefits
(Moser and Luers, 2008: 315) as well as long-term climate change adaptation
as a whole (Leichenko, 2011: 165; Viguié and Hallegatte, 2012: 335).
Finally, the OECD 2012 and 2015 reports were examined. With the 2012
Green Growth Report, indicators of green growth were identified and it was
emphasized that in mitigating the effects of climate change, it is important
to apply green growth strategies (OECD, 2012). In the other report dated
2015 is Climate Change Risks and Adaptation: Linking Policy and Economics.
The report states that land use policies will promote adaptation to climate
change. For instance, to cool down urban areas where urban heat island effect
takes place, the suitable land use policy should be to encourage forestation.
In addition, as urban growth dynamics can be controlled through land use
policies, urban growth can be shaped in terms of climate change adaptation.
It is suggested that due to the capacity of agricultural lands and natural areas
for adaptation, they shouldn’t be considered as urban growth areas and urban
growth (if necessary) should be directed towards risk free areas (OECD, 2015).
As part of the study, when Türkiye is examined, it is seen that studies at a
national level on climate change adaptation have been continuing since the
2000s. The effects of climate change in national documents first appeared
in 8th Development Plan (Kazancı, 2019: 47). In this plan, it is assumed that
climate change will affect especially the coastal parts of Türkiye. However, the
main problem in Türkiye is the discrepancy between policies on urban growth
and climate based studies (Gedikli and Balaban, 2018: 470). In other words,
although climate change adaptation/mitigation policies created at a national
and local level aim to deal with the effects of climate change, the effects of
climate change due to anthropogenic effects are rapidly increasing (Kazancı
and Tezer, 2021: 307). With the urban growth approach seen as economic
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