Urban areas are facing climate risks on many fronts.

Shocks such as floods, storms and heatwaves cause immediate damage whilst stresses such as drought and sea level rise gradually weaken the system (Avazpour, 2024). These are becoming regular threats. We face social and economic consequences of these impacts when infrastructure and service are interrupted and recovery costs increase.

Due to a range of geographic and social factors, cities are particularly exposed. Recent heatwaves and storms in Australian cities have demonstrated the unprecedented impacts of these extreme events on community wellbeing and pressure on the health system. These also impact people’s daily life during a cost-of-living crisis through rising costs for property insurance and maintenance. Over the summer of 2019, Australia saw its worst ever bushfire season (futureearth, 2020). Future predictions are concerning. By 2050, more than two‑thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, many of which are already exposed to extreme events like Sydney’s floods or heatwaves. This makes adaptation urgent and necessary. It also highlights the need for place‑based, data‑driven and collaborative approaches to build resilience (DEECCW, 2025).

Climate change adaptation is the ongoing process of evolving how we make decisions so that we are able to manage the expected impacts of climate change. Adaptation in urban areas requires public and private actors to engage in the governance of complex challenges under conditions of uncertainty. This highlights the need for coordinated action among local government, state, private sector stakeholders and communities (Taylor et al., 2012). In Australia, many councils, businesses, households and communities are already playing important roles in defining a collective response to climate change (CCV, 2025). Internationally, local authorities often cooperate across local, regional, and national scales by facilitating networks and partnerships to address climate change. However, studies show that majority of these partnerships focus more on mitigation strategies than adaptation, with energy efficiency frequently prioritised as a collaborative approach involving research institutions and local energy providers (Betsill & Bulkeley, 2007; Harman et al., 2015). In order to undertake effective urban resilience planning, it is important to recognise the potential contribution of different actors. This will vary according to their capacity, perception of climate change adaptation, and defined roles and responsibilities. (Taylor et al., 2012).

Roles and responsibilities in urban climate adaptation

Local governments

According to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), governments are primarily responsible for establishing the appropriate conditions and incentives for private actors to manage climate-related risks and make efficient investment decisions as well as for safeguarding public assets and service delivery. Their actions should also strengthen the adaptive capacity of individuals, communities, and businesses. In some cases, targeted strategies that build on existing social support systems may be required to enhance capacity in particularly vulnerable communities.

Local governments are central actors in climate adaptation as they are often the first to respond to local climate-related emergencies and maintain close relationships with communities. Because of the role of local governments in community preparedness, they are increasingly expected to prepare for and adapt to global climate change through climate adaptation planning (Baker et al., 2012). This position enables them to play a critical role in building local resilience and supporting adaptation on the ground. Evidence from five case studies by ALGA (2025) suggests that local government adaptation actions deliver significant returns, with estimated benefits ranging from $0.8 to $3.1 for every $1 invested. These figures reflect avoided costs and improved resilience outcomes rather than direct financial returns.

Councils contribute to climate adaptation through planning and zoning controls, which help to reduce exposure to hazards while strengthening long-term adaptive capacity. They also play an important coordinating role by creating collaborative environments for key stakeholders, engaging residents, educating communities and delivering local scale projects (CCV, 2025). In practice, councils adopt a range of approaches. These are based on local risk levels, available resources, and institutional responsibilities. Interventions are selected on the basis of those which are most effective in their specific context.

Despite this important role, Australia’s local governments face several constraints. Of these, the most significant is limited and inconsistent funding. While secure, long-term funding for councils would deliver strong national returns on adaptation investment, many current projects rely on short-term grants. This undermines continuity, efficiency, and long-term capacity building (ALGA, 2025). Beyond funding, councils also face challenges related to fragmented governance and overlapping responsibilities, which can make coordination across departments and agencies difficult. Short political and electoral cycles further constrain long-term planning while data gaps and uncertainty in climate projections can limit the confidence needed for investment decisions. In addition, competing service priorities, such as housing, infrastructure maintenance, and community services, place further pressure on already limited resources. Some councils are often disproportionately affected due to uneven technical capacity and access to specialist expertise. Broader challenges also include regulatory constraints, community resistance to certain planning decisions and the difficulty of measuring long-term and avoided benefits of adaptation, which are often less visible than traditional infrastructure outcomes. Strengthening adaptation outcomes therefore requires not only financial investment but also improved institutional knowledge, better coordination, and enhanced technical capability across stakeholder groups.

Effective climate adaptation depends on a holistic and collaborative approach that combines sustained funding with technical expertise, strong governance support and shared responsibility across sectors. Addressing existing constraints therefore requires practical solution. These include embedding climate adaptation within statutory planning systems to reduce fragmentation, strengthening inter-agency coordination mechanisms to improve governance integration and supporting councils through targeted capacity-building programs and shared technical resources. Improved access to reliable climate data and decision-support tools is also essential to reduce uncertainty and support evidence-based planning. An analysis of 219 adaptation actions undertaken by local governments across Australian states and the Northern Territory (ALGA, 2025) shows variation in approaches depending on capacity and resources. These approaches include establishing governance frameworks for climate risk management, investing in nature-based solutions and green-blue infrastructure, and building adaptive capacity through knowledge sharing and cultural change.

The study further highlights that 44% of councils incorporate climate considerations into governance processes, such as conducting climate risk assessments to inform decision-making. While these assessments are often difficult to quantify, they make a significant contribution to long-term resilience by embedding climate awareness into planning systems. Physical and nature-based interventions, including infrastructure and ecosystem-based measures, account for 29% of actions, although these are often dependent on one-off grant funding. Knowledge-based and behavioural initiatives represent 24% of actions and focus on education, awareness, and community engagement to improve understanding of climate risks. In contrast, regulatory and economic instruments account for only 5% of activities. This gap may reflect both limited data and the challenges of implementing stronger planning controls, such as relocating assets away from high-risk areas without broader political and community support.

Overall, while local governments are increasingly active in climate adaptation, their efforts remain uneven across governance, physical implementation, and regulatory reform. This highlights the need for stronger long-term funding, enhanced technical capacity and more integrated institutional support to enable councils to move beyond incremental actions toward more transformative and system-wide climate resilience.

(image by Jonathan Ford via unsplash.com)

State governments

In the critical time of extreme climate events, state governments need to adopt significant actions to advance adaptation and support local governments, individuals and business. State governments provide strategic oversight, legislation, and funding that enable local adaptation. They set statewide standards, develop climate change scenarios, provide data and information, influence building codes and climate resilience planning and coordinate funding for local programs. They also help scale up adaptation responses across regions and align planning frameworks.

Examples illustrate the impact of state leadership. The NSW Floodplain Management Program funds councils in flood-prone areas with technical expertise and long-term planning support. They provide expert advice and support on flood modelling, risk assessment, management options, planning and environmental considerations and community engagement (DEECCW, 2026). The Victorian Government has prepared Adaptation Action Plans (AAPs) across 7 systems to ensure Victoria’s climate resilience, now and in the future. These systems include built environment, education and training, health and human services, natural environment, primary production, transport and water cycle. The Plans are guiding government action and helping institutions, businesses and individuals take informed action to respond to the risks and opportunities of our changing climate. The plans reflect lessons learned from adaptation efforts to date and have been informed by organisations and experts as well as the public through consultation in mid-2021 (DEECA, 2022). Plans cover the challenges of climate change that each system encounters, the actions have been done already and the key actions for the next five years.

These programs and plans emphasise the role of policy frameworks, funding support, and cross-collaboration to enable effective adaptation.

Private sector and communities

There are strong expectations for collaboration between local authorities, the private sector, and communities in urban climate adaptation. This is particularly the case as the involvement of multiple stakeholders is considered essential for successful outcomes. Researchers and policymakers suggest that the private sector can often deliver adaptation measures more efficiently than public authorities, while community engagement is important to ensure adaptation strategies are legitimate, inclusive, and informed by local knowledge and experience (Klein et al., 2018).

According to the 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, local government and the private sector are increasingly recognised as critical to progress in adaptation (IPCC, 2014). Private sector drives innovation and helps to implement adaptation. They can incorporate resilient design, sustainable materials and green infrastructure in projects, while consultants provide technical expertise and risk assessment support for governments and councils. Collaboration between public and private actors enhances capacity to deliver adaptation outcomes at scale.

Although research has emphasised the importance of involving communities and the private sector in climate adaptation, in practice, participation from citizens and private sector stakeholders has remained limited (IPCC, 2014; Klein et al., 2018). Cities predominantly focus on self-governing when it comes to adaptation. Communities can participate in planning processes, provide local insight on risks and drive critical adaptation initiatives such as neighborhood planting projects and local flood readiness efforts. Engaging communities at early of climate readiness and adaptation projects helps ensure that adaptation measures meet local needs and build ownership for long-term resilience outcomes.

One of the main challenges of involving private sector and communities is that there is a lack of guidance for the private sector’s and citizens’ adaptation (van Kasteren, 2014; Wamsler and Brink, 2015). The involvement of private actors, including citizens and private sector organisations, has largely focused on implementing adaptation measures, while public authorities continue to lead the analysis of climate risks and the development of adaptation strategies. Community participation in identifying problems and shaping adaptation responses remains relatively limited. In many cases, citizens contribute through indirect or unintentional forms of adaptation, where actions are motivated by everyday social, economic, or environmental concerns rather than climate change itself (Klein et al., 2014).

To achieve successful adaptation measures, there should be clear communication and collaboration pathways for private sector and community involvement. The more likely it is that the public sector is to encourage private sector actors and communities to adapt to climate change, the more effective outcomes are expected. To examine this assumption, three different analyses were conducted.

(private company delivering community flood protection infrastructure. Image: AI generated via freepix)

Recommendations and Calls to Action

Building climate-resilient cities requires practical, coordinated action from all actors. Councils, state governments, private sector stakeholders and communities must work together to reduce risk, protect infrastructure, and enhance liveability. Based on the examples above, key actions include:

• Secure long-term and stable funding for local governments to enable continuous climate adaptation planning, delivery, and capacity building beyond short-term project cycles.
• Embed climate adaptation into planning, zoning, and development systems, ensuring urban growth decisions actively reduce exposure to heat, flood, and sea-level rise risks.
• Expand nature-based and green-blue infrastructure solutions, including urban tree canopy expansion, wetlands restoration, and water-sensitive urban design to improve cooling, water management, and liveability.
• Strengthen state leadership and cross-sector coordination, aligning climate data, building standards, policies, and adaptation frameworks across regions and sectors to ensure consistency and scale.
• Enhance public–private collaboration in urban development, enabling developers and consultants to integrate climate resilience, innovation, and risk reduction early in project design and delivery.
• Improve community participation and local knowledge integration, ensuring adaptation planning reflects lived experience and supports community-led resilience initiatives.
• Build shared access to climate risk data and technical capacity, enabling evidence-based decision-making across government, industry, and communities to support more effective and targeted adaptation outcomes.

Article submitted by Dr Behnaz Avazpour on behalf of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects

Behnaz Avazpour is an architect and registered Landscape Architect (AILA) with years of industry experience related to the outdoor and indoor built environment projects. Her PhD from the University of New South Wales, Sydney focuses on water management and climate change adaptation of urban built environment. She also has been involved in multidisciplinary research projects including Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), human thermal comfort and performance-based design. Her experience in academia and industry has given her a deep understanding of the built environment and effective ways of developing sustainable solutions to address related complex problems.

References

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Baker, I., Peterson, A., Brown, G., & McAlpine, C. (2012). Local government response to the impacts of climate change: An evaluation of local climate adaptation plans. Landscape and urban planning, 107(2), 127-136.

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(na). Roles and Responsibilities for Climate Change Adaptation in Australia. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of Australia.

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