Venice: Climate Risk and Response

On May 7th 2013, emerging sustainable development leaders participating in Professor Shagun Mehrotra’s Climate Change and Cities course gathered in Wollman Hall at The New School to discuss climate risks and responses in six global cities: Guatemala City, Ho Chi Minh City, Kampala, Kolkata, Los Angeles, and Venice.

Urban climate resilience was analyzed in the water, energy, and transport sectors in each of the six cities.  This scientific analysis utilized the Framework for City Climate Risk Assessment (Mehrotra et al., 2009) to reveal how cities can assess climate risk by examining the hazards, vulnerabilities, and adaptive capacities unique to their urban geographies.

Presenters—mentored by Center Director Shagun Mehrotra—utillized risk analysis as a tool to prioritize and craft adaptation or mitigation responses and to operationalize action through contextualized policy mechanisms.  A discussion of environmental infrastructure policy and planning, and supply-side reforms in Venice can be found here.