Urban typologies in climate risk and adaptation studies: Approaches, applications, remaining gaps and ways forward

The amount of scientific knowledge and published case studies on climate risks and adaptation action in cities has been rising sharply over the recent years. Typologies, archetypes or clustering approaches have been used in a range of studies and science-for-policy reports in an attempt to structure the wealth of case study information into larger profiles that facilitate general analysis and policy-advice. However, no single-best approach has yet emerged that allows to capture the diversity and multi-dimensionality of urban risk profiles and adaptation challenges in a comprehensive, dynamic and comparative manner. Rather, different approaches suggested to date all come with their individual capabilities and limits. Their synergies and trade-offs as well as their potential for integration yet has to be examined in more detail.
This paper therefore provides a comprehensive review of the ways in which urban typologies have been used in the field of climate risk and adaptation, covering (a) the academic literature, (b) the IPCC’s latest assessment cycle and (c) practice and policy documents at the global scale. Based on a structured literature and document analysis it assesses which approaches have been applied in which domains and which strengths and weaknesses have been highlighted. The paper then provides a structured analysis of current overlaps and gaps in order to identify potential entry points for the integration of different existing approaches. In addition, it suggests potential future amendments of urban typologies based on newly emerging data sources and analysis techniques. Lastly, the paper sets out an evaluation framework which shall be used in the future to have the proposed integrations and amendments undergo an expert evaluation by prospective recipients and users of urban typology information.