Spatial Planning and Systems Thinking Tools for Climate Risk Reduction: A Case Study of the Andaman Coast, Thailand

Joanna M. McMillan, Joern Birkmann, Siwaporn Tangwanichagapong and Ali Jamshed
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Joanna M. McMillan: Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Joern Birkmann: Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Siwaporn Tangwanichagapong: GIZ Thailand, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Ali Jamshed: Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: The impact of climate change and related hazards such as floods, heatwaves, and sea level rise on human lives, cities, and their hinterlands depends not only on the nature of the hazard, but also on urban development, adaptation, and other socioeconomic processes that determine vulnerability and exposure. Spatial planning can reduce climate risk not just by influencing the exposure, but also by addressing social vulnerability. This requires that relevant information is available to planners and that plans are implemented and coordinated between sectors. This article is based on a research project in Thailand, particularly on the results of multi-sectoral workshops in the case study region of the Andaman Coast in southern Thailand, and draws upon climate risk, spatial planning, and systems thinking discourses. The article formulates recommendations for planning in the context of Thailand that are relevant for other rapidly growing and urbanizing regions. Among other conclusions, it suggests that systems thinking approaches and cross-sectoral strategies are ways to grasp the interdependencies between and within climate risk and spatial development challenges.

Keywords: adaptation; spatial planning; urbanization; vulnerability; climate risk; systems thinking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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