Literature Review on climate change impacts on urban city centres

This study has undertaken a review of the literature on studies of climate change on cities. The literature review has also collated the key issues and the state of evidence by sector/theme for cities. These relate to sea level rise on coastal cities (and storm surge), infrastructure damage from extremes, health, energy use, water demand and water availability, tourism and cultural heritage, urban biodiversity and air pollution. This sectoral analysis shows a strong variation in impacts with location and site. The review has also considered methodological issues. Understanding and improving methodological approaches, and the way they can affect the impacts and economic cost estimates, is essential to ensure that this type of information can be effectively used in city analysis. Several areas are highlighted to improve methods and consistency between impact assessments.