Uccrn Education This article was taken and translated from Corriere della Sera.
Key points
- ARC3.3 Report & Urban Climate Research – UCCRN’s ARC3.3 Report (Feb 2025) features 500+ authors and 250 city case studies on urban climate adaptation.
- Workshops & Collaborative Planning – Urban Design Climate Workshops engage experts and communities in co-designing climate resilience strategies.
- Collaboration with Naples – UCCRN supports Naples with climate data and planning tools for its Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (2030).
The Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), founded in May 2007, is a global consortium of more than two thousand scientists, scholars, and professionals from over 150 cities. Its members include academics and researchers, some of whom are involved in the activities of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The network has a broad range of partners, including international agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other public and private entities.
The network is coordinated by the Global Secretariat, based at Columbia University in New York, which promotes key activities and events on a global scale. It is also supported by regional hubs located in Europe, Central and Latin America, Africa, South and East Asia, and Australia, which provide targeted research and support for regional and local researchers and specialists.
The Urban Climate Change Research Network is a global consortium with more than two thousand scientists. Mattia Leone, Associate Professor at the University of Naples Federico II, explains the mission of UCCRN, where he co-directs the European hub.
On a global scale, within urban contexts, UCCRN is dedicated to the systemic transformation of cities in relation to functional-spatial, technological, environmental, socio-economic, and ecological aspects. It employs multi- and transdisciplinary approaches, engaging climate change experts with diverse expertise, including: climate and environmental sciences; urban planning, design, architecture, and engineering; social and political sciences, economics, and finance; participatory governance and environmental law; data science and digital technologies, data analysis; risk management and disaster risk reduction.
Reports and workshops
The UCCRN engages local authorities, researchers, students, and professionals in activities through the Urban Design Climate Workshops, where methodologies and operational tools developed by the network are shared and applied in cities such as New York, Paris, Durban, Rio de Janeiro, and Naples.
The organization also provides training by developing open-access resources, including the online course Cities and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation, created in collaboration with MIT in Boston, and UCCRN_edu, an initiative for innovation in university education funded by Erasmus Italy.
Every seven years, UCCRN publishes the Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities, which consolidates advancements, research perspectives, and operational guidelines for tackling climate change from an urban perspective. The next Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3 series) is set to be released in February 2025.
ARC3.3
“This is the third report published by UCCRN for Cambridge University Press,” continues Leone. “The first was produced in 2011 with contributions from over 100 authors from more than 50 countries. The second, in 2018, featured 350 authors and over 115 city case studies across various continents. With ARC3.3, we have surpassed 500 authors and compiled a Case Study Atlas with examples from 250 cities, linked to the Special Report on Cities currently being developed by the IPCC. The selection process for ARC3 authors is open and public, coordinated by the Global Secretariat in New York and the directors of the regional hubs. Case studies are developed by young researchers and professionals, who are invited to share their experiences and experiments. The report writing process is extensive and includes numerous collaborative sessions among author groups as well as public discussions, often involving local authorities, experts, and technical specialists.“
“ARC3.3,” Leone continues, “explores the relationship between cities and climate change through chapters developed from different but interconnected thematic perspectives—for example, urban climate science, circular economy, governance and just transition, nature-based solutions, and the interdependence of urban infrastructure systems. Together, these perspectives create a common ground for scientists, professionals, and policymakers to exchange knowledge, methods, and practices. The goal is to rethink urban development and transformation pathways in ways that contribute to the necessary ecological and socio-economic rebalancing on both local and global scales.
In February, the chapter Planning, Urban Design and Architecture for Climate Action, which I co-coordinated with my colleague Jeffrey Raven from the New York Institute of Technology, will be published.”
“This work is aimed at academics, designers, and technical professionals in institutional frameworks, emphasizing the importance of dialogue between research and professional practice. It highlights the need to develop integrated actions for decarbonization and adaptation, based on the socio-economic and environmental priorities expressed by local communities. The report places a strong emphasis on environmental and spatial justice, exploring ways to enhance competencies within public administrations and private sectors, which drive the vast majority of urban transformations.
This publication breaks down disciplinary rigidities that, even in academic settings, often hinder the development of thought adequate to the complexity of social and environmental challenges. It adopts a multi-scalar design approach that transcends the traditional boundaries of architects, planners, and engineers, welcoming contributions from urban ecologists, climatologists, sociologists, geographers, mathematicians, and physicists. This interdisciplinary enrichment strengthens the rationale behind how cities and architecture must evolve today.
The text includes numerous examples, many of which have been developed over the past decade by our working group as part of the Urban Design Climate Workshop initiative.”
The Urban Design Climate Workshops engage both students from various disciplines—who collaborate on specific urban projects—and local authorities, supporting urban planning and design actions for climate resilience. These workshops also activate collaborative and co-design initiatives with residents and neighborhood associations to assess the needs and expectations of local communities through an inclusive co-production process.
The goal is to develop a shared understanding of cities and neighborhoods, proposing transformations that align with the local environmental, functional, spatial, and socio-economic context. The approach highlights the interconnections between climate benefits and social, economic, and environmental co-benefits, bringing everyday life closer to potential urban transformation scenarios.
Collaboration with Naples
“On a global scale,” concludes Mattia Leone, “the number of case study cities is truly vast, as demonstrated by the contributions included in the UCCRN Case Study Docking Station, which will feed into the new Atlas. As the European Hub, we are currently working with cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Thessaloniki, and Naples.
We have a long-standing collaboration with the Municipality of Naples, further strengthened by activities carried out in partnership with the University of Naples Federico II within the framework of European projects. Since 2017, we have supported the administration by developing studies, simulation models, and planning and design tools made available to urban decision-makers and technical offices.
Today, we are involved in two research projects in which, in addition to providing updated data on climate change scenarios for the city, we have developed tools to monitor the effectiveness of ongoing actions and programs aimed at reducing emissions and mitigating the impacts of extreme temperatures and precipitation. Furthermore, we are identifying new strategic actions necessary to achieve the climate targets set for 2030.
All of this will be published by the Municipality of Naples in the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, which is currently in the drafting phase.”
