Renewing Local Planning to Face Climate Change in the Tropics

In this review of Renewing Local Planning to Face Climate Change in the Tropics, the bottom line is that planners, policy makers and practitioners working in tropical regions will find a thoughtful, case-study driven resource that links modern climate characterization tools with local decision making. The book is especially valuable for those who need practical examples of integrating traditional knowledge with new technologies to reduce disaster risk and adapt communities. It is presented as open access under a CC BY 4.0 license, which makes it easy to share and apply in real-world planning contexts.

Key Features

• Open access licensing: The CC BY 4.0 license allows readers to reuse, distribute and build on the material for planning and training with minimal restriction.
• Case-study driven: Sixteen detailed case studies from the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and South East Asia provide concrete examples of methods and outcomes.
• Blend of knowledge systems: The book shows how integrating traditional and modern knowledge enhances disaster risk reduction and community resilience.
• Multi-scale focus: Coverage spans rural communities, cities and regions so readers can see how approaches scale across different planning contexts.
• Practical decision tools: Emphasis on decision-making tools gives planners actionable pathways for tracking vulnerability, risk and adaptation options.
• Technology application: Demonstrates use of modern technologies for local climate characterization to inform targeted interventions.

Who It's For

This book is best suited to municipal planners, adaptation practitioners, NGO staff and academics working on climate resilience in tropical settings who need comparative examples and applied methods. The practical case studies and focus on decision tools make it a useful reference for those designing local climate plans and seeking ways to combine community knowledge with technical assessments.

It is less appropriate for readers looking for a purely theoretical treatment of climate science or a global meta-analysis; those audiences may want more technical climate-modeling volumes or regional synthesis reports. Similarly, readers seeking a short how-to checklist without case context may find the detailed case studies more valuable than concise templates.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Practical, case-led approach that translates methods into real planning practice.
• Open access CC BY 4.0 license makes the content easy to reuse in training and policy work.
• Wide geographic spread of case studies offers transferable lessons across tropical regions.

Cons

• Not a technical textbook on climate modeling, so it may lack depth for specialist climate scientists.

Specifications

Title	Renewing Local Planning to Face Climate Change in the Tropics
Authors / Editors	Maurizio Tiepolo, Alessandro Pezzoli, Vieri Tarchiani
License	Open access, CC BY 4.0
Geographic focus	Caribbean, Central America, Western & Eastern Africa, South East Asia
Case studies	16 case studies covering rural, urban and regional scales
Primary topics	Local climate characterization, vulnerability and risk tracking, decision-making tools

Our Verdict

Renewing Local Planning to Face Climate Change in the Tropics is a practical and accessible resource for planners and practitioners in tropical regions who want concrete examples of how to link technology, traditional knowledge and decision tools for adaptation. Its open access license and multi-scale case studies make it a strong value for use in training, policy design and community-driven planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this book free to use in training workshops?
Yes. The CC BY 4.0 license permits reuse and distribution for training, provided attribution is given.

Which regions do the case studies cover?
The case studies are mainly from the Caribbean, Central America, Western and Eastern Africa, and South East Asia.

Does the book provide technical climate models?
It focuses on practical tools and local climate characterization rather than in-depth climate-model development, so technical modelers may want supplemental sources.