Competitive climate adaptation. How startups are driving climate change adaptation in cities

Abstract

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal, Review Notes, is the expression of continuously updating emerging topics concerning relationships between urban planning, mobility and environment, through a collection of short scientific papers written by young researchers. The Review Notes are made of five parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of TeMA Journal. In particular, the Urban Practices section aims at presenting recent advancements on relevant topics that underline the challenges that the cities have to face. This note concludes a three-part series exploring the potential driving role of climate tech startups in supporting urban planning processes for effective climate change adaptation in cities. It first provides an overview of urban planning tools that enable cities to integrate innovation ecosystems into goal-oriented urban transformation processes. These tools highlight the strong interconnection between advancing climate change adaptation and enhancing urban competitiveness. Subsequently, a set of representative case studies of climate startups that have successfully scaled up and are driving tangible adaptive transformations in urban contexts is examined. The note then outlines practical recommendations and future research directions. Overall, the case studies demonstrate that climate startups are not only highly promising allies for urban adaptation, but are already shaping the pathways toward climate-resilient cities. Innovation ecosystems emerge as crucial actors in scaling up global efforts for urban resilience and competitiveness.