... was the title of the special session at the 59th ISOCARP Conference in Toronto at the beginning of October. Organized by UN-Habitat's Planning for Climate Action (P4CA), this session discussed the contribution that integrated and sustainable urban and regional planning can make to achieving climate change adaptation goals, while identifying initiatives at the local level and in the private sector that can support this contribution. The initial thesis was that integrated and sustainable urban and regional planning has considerable potential for the development of proactive long-term adaptation and mitigation approaches if it is desired and supported locally by many social groups.
Moderated by Olafiyin Taiwo, Commonwealth Association of Planners and Planning for Climate Action, Prof. (em.) Bruce Stiftel, Faculty of City and Regional Planning, Georgia Tech, Mai Nguyen, MIT and APA, and Dr Wolfgang Scholz, Faculty of Spatial Planning, presented their opening statements for the lively panel discussion that followed.