Balancing adaptation and mitigation strategies through an integrated approach: climate responses in the human habitat

Cities and urban areas have an essential role in contributing to sustainable development, as highlighted in the New Urban Agenda and in the Paris Agreement. To this end, experts and municipalities have been setting green and low carbon agendas to transform the built environment and promoting measures to make cities resilient and inclusive. Although several efforts have been promoted to integrate mitigation and adaptation strategies at the local level, a more integrated approach toward climate-energy transition in the built environment is foreseen. By analysing climate and energy-related European policies and by reviewing recent literature, the article explores the interrelations between adaptive and mitigative measures and the challenges related to their successful integration in the human habitat. Finally, the study critically selects strategies of Italian urban planning tools facilitating a combined approach and trying to bridge the gaps in the current processes.