Regional Workshop on Climate Resilient Cities: Adaptive and Mitigative Approaches for a Warming Habitat

The Habitat team conducted a regional workshop on Climate-Resilient Cities: Adaptive and Mitigative Approaches for a Warming Habitat on March 7, 2025, at the School of Planning and Architecture, University of Mysore. The event brought together over 120 participants from Mysuru and Bengaluru, including representatives from the Bangalore Development Authority, Mysuru City Corporation, SPA Mysore, and academics from institutions such as GSSS School of Architecture for Women and JSS Science and Technology University.

The workshop began with the regional release of CSE’s Heat Toolkit, followed by technical sessions led by the CSE team. The first session, conducted by Rajneesh Sareen, Programme Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, focused on urban heat stress and its links to public health and climate change. He highlighted the role of climate-responsive planning, emphasizing blue-green infrastructure, sun and wind-responsive urban layouts, and reflective materials as key strategies to reduce heat stress and lower cooling demand. He also underscored the need for heat discharge standards in buildings to prevent them from exacerbating outdoor temperatures.

This was followed by a session by Ms. Mitashi Singh, Programme Manager, Sustainable Habitat Programme, on the methodology for heat assessments using the Heat Toolkit. She emphasized the importance of identifying heat-stressed areas and vulnerable populations to prioritize climate action. Citing data that over 60 percent of Mysuru experiences land surface temperatures above 45°C, she stressed the need for cities to integrate heat mitigation strategies into urban planning.

Prof. N.K. Lokanath, Vice Chancellor of the University of Mysore, addressed the gathering, emphasizing the urgency of climate action and the need for individuals to adopt climate-conscious lifestyles. He highlighted how Mysore’s green campus is changing under population pressure and noted the increasing complexity of environmental challenges. He stressed that contemporary environmental challenges have become more complex, with an increasing prevalence of diseases linked to climate change.

In the keynote address, Dr. Chandrashekhar Hariharan spoke about the environmental costs of rapid urbanization. He pointed out that cities, despite their small geographical footprint, contribute significantly to carbon emissions, degrade air and water quality, and consume vast amounts of energy. He encouraged participants to draw lessons from rural India’s sustainable practices and integrate traditional wisdom into urban planning.

The workshop concluded with SPA presenting its research on Mysore, developed using the Heat Toolkit. Participants engaged in hands-on simulation exercises to assess heat stress and analyze urban microclimates. They mapped heat-stressed areas using land surface temperature estimations and evaluated urban form and material properties affecting thermal performance. Strategies such as passive cooling, blue-green infrastructure, and reflective materials were applied to design interventions for mitigating the urban heat island effect.