MIT professor is studying, and reporting on, the challenges
facing a cross-section of global cities as they brace for the future.
Because cities hold a growing portion of the world’s
population, they are an increasingly important locus of planning for climate
change. JoAnn Carmin, an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Urban
Studies and Planning, has surveyed urban leaders worldwide on the subject. Now,
in a new report commissioned by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Carmin outlines the strategies city officials — from Tokyo to
Boston to Maputo — are employing as they seek more progress. And while some
cities have implemented policies, such as home energy-efficiency programs, to
limit greenhouse-gas emissions in the first place, her report focuses more on
how they are planning for and coping with both existing and projected climate
problems. MIT News recently spoke to Carmin, who is also a contributor to the
Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.