Regional Climate Change and Variability Impacts and Responses

Integrated assessments of the impacts of, and adaptation to, climate change and variability at urban and regional scales are presented in this comprehensive volume. Six thematically distinct yet methodologically related projects illustrate 'horizontal' integration, which focuses on impacts and responses across different sectors, and 'vertical' integration, which traces changes from the climate system through to the economy and society. Areas of application include water resource allocation, wildfire management, agriculture, public health and urban infrastructure in the United States. In its development of methodologies and their applications to individual regions, this book presents a rich set of insights and a set of guides for investment and policymaking. Each of the six studies focuses on a finer geographic scale than is customary in integrated assessment research. They introduce innovations for impact analysis and contribute to the knowledge of localized experiences of climate change - how it affects a variety of sectors, how different stakeholders perceive its implications and adapt to it, and how decision support systems can promote dialogues between researchers, stakeholders and policymakers. The contributors' conclusions will be of great interest to urban and regional planners, environmental scientists and engineers, physical and human geographers, ecologists, environmental and natural resource economists, public administrators, public service providers and utility managers, among others.