From knowledge to action: multi-stakeholder planning for urban climate change adaptation and resilience in the Asia–Pacific

One of the most challenging aspects of urban climate change adaptation and resilience continues to be the act of translating knowledge about vulnerability into action for resilience. This paper distills efforts to develop a capacity building initiative for practitioners and stakeholders of urban climate change adaptation and resilience through applied locally contextual curriculum development, course implementation, and continued mentoring. Grounded in principles of participatory action research, the initiative worked with partners from 12 countries and more than 40 cities across South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The paper discusses the iterative evolution of the course, which was developed and refined over a period of 2 years and is now being implemented by international development agencies and organizations throughout these regions. Findings highlight the learning process undertaken, which led to the creation of a “goalpost to goalpost” framework for assisting municipal governments and associated stakeholders in developing a shared, policy-relevant, and institutionally grounded understanding of the localized physical processes and impacts associated with climate change. We also showcase the complexity therein, describing solution-oriented pathways for assessing and prioritizing vulnerabilities, designing an adaptation portfolio, and identifying sources of local, domestic, and international financing to support the implementation of policies and projects. The paper provides a number of lessons to inform capacity building efforts in addressing climate change impacts in diverse urban landscapes and serves as a strategy for policy formulation and adaptation project preparation across stakeholder groups. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.