Work Package 2

Research Questions (provisional):

  1. What form (scale, time horizon, resolution, confidence, type-means, thresholds…) of climate information proves useful in decision making in the co-exploration framework?
  2. And how does it relate to what can possibly be made available, interpreted and presented?
  3. To what extent and how does co-production of knowledge change the practice of decision-making in cities?
  4. Who are the city “decision-makers” (multi-scalar)?
  5. What are the power relations in city?
  6. What sort of decisions are in the domain of cities?
  7. What are dominant discourses in the city?
  8. Where is the current institutional position of climate change in city governance?
  9. How could decisions be made to ensure implementation? What makes a difference between implemented and unimplemented decisions?
  10. To what extent does climate information currently inform decision-making in all sectors within city governance?
  11. What is the added value of climate-related information in city decision-making context (currently, and potentially)?
  12. Can interactive learning process support decision-making at longer time scales?
  13. Does institutional position of climate change in city structures affect effectiveness of adoption/uptake of climate information?
  14. How do planning frameworks used in city context incorporate uncertainty, in theory and in practice?
  15. How much uncertainty in climate information can cities tolerate?
  16. What constrains and enables considering climate change as a significant issue in city decision-making?
  17. What prevents climate change from being seen as socio-economic rather than environmental issue?
  18. What is the role of physical and governance local-regional linkages in climate change relevant decision making? (e.g. catchment boundaries extending beyond city…)
  19. What influences/defines resilience in African cities?
  20. What is the practical meaning of “low-regret decision-making” in the context of southern African cities? (‘robust decision-making’)