Evolutionary urban climate resilience: assessment of Seoul’s policies

Purpose: Ongoing climate risks require all levels of society to be resilient. Urban areas, which are densely developed with huge levels of population and infrastructure, are critical places to develop adaptation and resilience strategies. This study aims to conceptualize evolutionary urban climate resilience strategies with a step-by-step analytic framework that will be called 3R: Recognition–Readiness–Response. Design/methodology/approach: This analytic framework is then applied to assess whether and to what extent the components of urban climate resilience are incorporated into the pertinent ordinances and policies of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, including climate change, urban planning and disaster management. Findings: The findings of this study suggest that the climate change ordinances of Seoul have focused on climate mitigation rather than resilience. Practical implications: Thus, comprehensive efforts are required to incorporate evolutionary urban climate resilience strategies into ordinances and practices. Originality/value: This paper contributes to build an analytic framework that provides a step-by-step process with check-list questions based on the sub-components of urban climate resilience procedure.