Resilient climate urbanism and the politics of experimentation for adaptation

Abstract

Cities are increasingly pursuing actions to become more resilient in the face of climate change and to seize related economic growth opportunities. Recent contributions have argued that “climate urbanism” is emerging as a hegemonic trend that is structuring climate adaptation with a focus on the selective securing of vital infrastructure for growth, promoting an apolitical vision of resilience and exacerbating inequalities. Developing situated understandings of these dynamics and their contestation seems key. We analyse this trend of climate urbanism in a specific setting of climate adaptation experiment: living labs. We investigate and intervene on two key processes of the politics of climate experimentation – making for compelling urban projects and focusing on infrastructure reconfiguration – whereby living labs could challenge or, conversely, amplify negative trends of climate urbanism. Our research in Montreal shows the value of understanding the subjectivities of the practitioners involved and the fields of political struggles where adaptation lands. Although the negative trends of climate urbanism appear very resilient and living labs have important limitations, we believe they can be used to muddle through pathways for more debates, equity and justice in climate adaptation