Landscape Assessment and Needs Analysis in Support of Integrating Climate Data into Municipal Planning, Analysis & Decision Making

ICLEI Canada worked with Urban Systems on a project that measured the state of adaptation planning in Canadian communities, analyzed current municipal decision-making processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and determined possible gaps in knowledge products for conducting climate change planning locally. We undertook a landscape assessment of over 700 communities in Canada to determine if and how climate change adaptation was considered in a municipality’s highest order planning documents. We then analyzed a smaller sample of municipalities to determine if climate change adaptation is incorporated in other strategic or master level planning, such as Asset Management Plans, Emergency Response Plans, and Stormwater Management Plans. We then conducted dozens of telephone interviews with select municipalities to understand possible data or knowledge gaps that hinder the climate adaptation planning process locally.

Simultaneously, Urban Systems conducted a SWOT analysis of existing municipal decision-making processes to identify entry points for municipalities to integrate climate change data into decision-making, and the availability of tools, frameworks and techniques for municipalities to undertake adaptation planning. Ultimately, the outputs of this project informed the Municipal Climate Services Collaborative Technical Working Group (an initiative of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Environment and Climate Change Canada) to help determine the types of tools and resources that should be developed to support climate change planning at the local level. 

Contact ewa.jackson@iclei.org to learn more about this project. 

Photos: Header – Oh Canada by Shawn Harquail flickr and Content – Waterfront and Canada Place Vancouver by Alex Costin flickr