Turning Climate Ambition into Reality through Urban Mobility Planning
As climate-related disasters escalate, urban planning must become proactive, not reactive.
MobiliseYourCity’s newest resource, “Integrating Climate Adaptation into Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs)”, empowers cities to build sustainable and resilient mobility systems through a structured, inclusive, and climate-aware approach.
What’s Inside: The 5 Building Blocks of the SUMP Guide
This topic guide follows and builds upon the recently released “Adaptation of urban mobility and the built environment to climate change - Nine principles for effective adaptation”, a foundational document outlining strategic adaptation priorities. While this document provides the “why” and the “what” of adaptation, the “Integrating Climate Adaptation into Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs)” guide delivers the “how.” It introduces five core building blocks designed to help cities systematically integrate climate adaptation into their mobility planning processes. Here’s an overview of the guide’s key components.
1. Foundation: Clear, Actionable Climate Adaptation Concepts
The guide provides a structured overview of climate adaptation principles tailored to the mobility sector. It unpacks the core concepts of climate risk, vulnerability, and resilience, translating them into practical considerations for urban mobility planning.
2. Step-by-Step Process for Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Mobility Planning
The heart of the guide is its methodical roadmap. It walks cities through all key phases of a SUMP—from diagnostics and stakeholder engagement to policy definition, implementation, and monitoring—with climate adaptation and social equity embedded throughout. It supports planners in developing systems that serve all, especially the most vulnerable.
3. A Flexible Framework for Diverse Urban Realities
Designed with low- and middle-income cities in mind, the guide offers modular steps that can be scaled based on city size, governance capacity, and resource availability. Whether a city is just beginning its planning journey or looking to refine existing mobility strategies, the guide meets it where it is.
4. Concrete Tools to Move from Strategy to Execution
The guide includes various practical tools: checklists, stakeholder mapping templates, indicator frameworks, and step-by-step implementation check-ins. These help cities not just to design—but to deliver—effective urban mobility systems in a changing climate.
5. Making the Plan Work: Institutionalisation and Financing
The final sections address critical enablers of long-term success: building institutional support, securing funding, and ensuring continuous evaluation. The guide helps cities bridge the gap between ambition and reality, reinforcing that implementation is just as vital as strategy.
Whether designing a new SUMP or updating an old one, this guide will help you align your city’s mobility system with a resilient and equitable urban future.
Download the full guide here:
SUMPs – A Guide to Implementation