Despite the findings on global climate change presented by the scientific community, there remains a significant gap between its recommendations and the actions of the public and policy makers. So far scientists and the media have failed to successfully communicate the urgency of the climate change situation in such a way that long-term, comprehensive, and legally binding policy commitments are being made on the national and international level. This book examines the way the public processes information, how they perceive threats and other perceptual factors that have a significant effect on how and to what degree climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies are supported. Understanding public risk perception plays a vital role in communicating the challenges of global climate change. Using a diverse range of international case studies, this book explores the nature of public perceptions of climate change and identifies the perception factors which have a significant impact on the public's willingness to support global climate change policies or commit to behavioral changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve urban resiliency. The comparative study of social and cultural factors, beliefs, attitudes and trust provides an international overview of best practices regarding the design, implementation and generation of public support for climate change policies at a global level. Offering valuable insight into climate change and risk communication, the book should be of interest to students and scholars of environment studies, politics, urban planning, and media and cultural studies.

Despite the findings on global climate change presented by the scientific community, there remains a significant gap between its recommendations and the actions of the public and policy makers. So far scientists and the media have failed to successfully communicate the urgency of the climate change situation in such a way that long-term, comprehensive, and legally binding policy commitments are being made on the national and international level. This book examines the way the public processes information, how they perceive threats and other perceptual factors that have a significant effect on how and to what degree climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies are supported. Understanding public risk perception plays a vital role in communicating the challenges of global climate change. Using a diverse range of international case studies, this book explores the nature of public perceptions of climate change and identifies the perception factors which have a significant impact on the public's willingness to support global climate change policies or commit to behavioral changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve urban resiliency. The comparative study of social and cultural factors, beliefs, attitudes and trust provides an international overview of best practices regarding the design, implementation and generation of public support for climate change policies at a global level. Offering valuable insight into climate change and risk communication, the book should be of interest to students and scholars of environment studies, politics, urban planning, and media and cultural studies.

There is an understandable tendency these days to be pessimistic about the future. To be sure, a planet of 10 Billion or more, with signs of serous climate change, severely constrained availability of water and food, and limited success tackling global poverty, to name a few, are not trends that inspire confidence. As the planet continues its high-speed charge towards urbanization, it remains to be seen whether this new global era will usher in an expanded capacity for solving these many challenges, or simply exacerbate them and make them intractable. Thus, how cities and urban life are designed and planned may be the single most important task ahead. The book you are about to read, and the insights, knowledge, and case examples it offers, will help steer the way. It posits that sustainability needs to be the ultimate goal for everything we do from here on; that it is no longer something optional, no longer simply lofty language but an essential lens and metric against which we must judge how well we are doing. You will need the depth of understanding and knowledge the editors and chapter authors so expertly provide here, but you will also need to be inspired, to be hopeful, and optimistic that your work in the future can make a discernible and significant difference.There has been a broadening of the city planning agenda and an increasing recognition that cities must consider many different challenges immediately and sustainably that is also helpful. Along with sustainability, there is a suite of complementary words that now make up the language of planners, urban designers, and managers. Resilience has emerged as one such potent word and an aspiration in a world where disasters such as Hurricane Sandy will become more common and cities will become first responders in periods of drought, heat waves, and disease outbreaks. The news is good here, as foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation with its 100 Resilient Cities Initiative are significantly elevating the profile and importance of resilience, and the tools available for advancing urban resilience, and cities, from New York to Rotterdam to Dhaka, are re-thinking the ways in which they occupy and inhabit their space. This suggests that these new adaptive strategies and, more profoundly, new modes of adaptive urban life will provide the means and confidence to meet 21st Century challenges head on. —Timothy Beatley, University of Virginia