Track 3.4: Community Resilience, Social Vulnerability and Urban Governance

Background: This research has been undertaken to understand the nature of planning policy and its impact on the local communities of Jakarta, Indonesia over four centuries of severe flooding. Jakarta is an informative case due to its unique context of flooding and vast areas of informal settlements, set across a deltaic plan crisscrossed by more than thirteen rivers and canals, together with some of the most rapid land subsidence globally. Research objective(s): This paper examines the nature of government responses to flooding which have shaped and reacted to the city’s spatial and urban form in the shape of policies, strategies and flood mitigation measures, in particular where previous responses failed to consider local ecology, flood patterns, natural drainage systems and existing local communities affected by flooding and the imposition of new flood infrastructure. The research proposes solutions, considering what policies, development strategies and best practices the Jakarta and Indonesian governments should be utilising in order to improve its current flood mitigation in a more sustainable and resilient manner, where local communities are not negatively impacted. The key theoretical approach his paper utilises is historical institutionalism, to analyse the historic behaviour of government departments tasked with planning flood infrastructure and writing associated planning policy, and the regulations themselves, to understand fully their impacts on local communities. Research data collection methods: Primary data included workshops where specific questions were posed to participants on the nature of the appropriateness of current infrastructure solutions, where gaps exist in the planning system and what planning policies the government should be pursuing for the future. Participants included Jakarta infrastructure planning officers, flood engineers (some of whom were engaged in the design of the flood infrastructure currently under construction), local academics with expertise in flooding and NGOs working with local communities impacted by flooding and flood related infrastructure in North Jakarta. Secondary data incorporated an analysis of policy documents and literature review, specifically focusing on the history of planning policies and flood mitigation and infrastructure investment. Main findings and significance for theory or practice: The workshop results illustrated areas of potential policy innovation, emphasising where institutions and government remain locked in to a particular policy pathway or culture of decision making which has not adapted despite the worsening of flooding over many decades. Technocratic solutions remain the preferred solution for flood mitigation, though Nature Based Solutions, where land availability allows, should be promoted. Bureaucratic and regulatory barriers to approaching flooding from the perspective of the entire watershed continue to persist. Administrative boundaries in particular remain a stubborn obstacle to cross border collaboration between local authorities and various levels of government. Top down planning remains the preferred way to respond to flooding from a planning and regulatory perspective, where local communities continue to be ignored and disenfranchised. New developments situated on new land reclamation in Jakarta Bay cater only to a narrow demographic rather than a wider cross section of society, lacking affordable housing. Finally, bottom up solutions lack a viable pathway to implementation where an urgent need for mechanisms, institutions and processes to facilitate change from the local level are needed. These findings illustrate a lack of institutional change of planning policies and lack of growth in associated government institutions consistent with historical trends outlined in historical institutionalist discourses. These institutional lock ins and path dependencies continue to influence policymakers, preventing meaningful change. This is significant because Jakarta has overarching influence on how other smaller mega cities in the region respond to flooding, as well as the impacts on local communities. This is concerning considering the government’s planned relocation of the capital, potentially to avoid these problems.

Typhoons constitute a major regional climatic hazard threatening the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the face of the uncertainty and periodicity of typhoon hazards, it is of great significance to establish a resilience-centered security concept with active adaptability. Based on a review of domestic and international resilience at varying spatial scales, this study leverages data from 135 typhoons in the Greater Bay Area, —including movement paths, intensity levels, and other attributes—combined with geospatial data on administrative divisions, as well as data on construction land and ecological water systems extracted from remote sensing imagery. Using kernel density analysis, the spatial distribution of typhoon impact intensity across the region is analyzed. The results reveal a gradient of decreasing typhoon risk from the eastern bank of the Pearl River Estuary toward inland regions. It further proposes establishing a resilience framework for the Greater Bay Area urban agglomeration at three levels: region/urban agglomeration, city, and town/community. At the regional/urban agglomeration level, focus on balanced spatial development and hierarchical governance. At the city level, enhance the ecological security pattern and engineering resilience. At the town/community level, strengthen disaster-response learning and self-organization capabilities. Meanwhile, it proposes establishing a collaborative governance mechanism for urban agglomerations and formulating cyclical resilience plans based on the seasonal characteristics of typhoons. The study will effectively enhancing the adaptive and recovery capabilities of urban agglomerations in responding to typhoon disasters.

Background Luxi County is a typical representative of urban areas in the karst region of the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau in China, characterized by high altitude, low latitude, complex terrain, and clear distinction between dry and wet seasons. The region is vulnerable to extreme climate impacts such as drought and rainfall bursts. The urban faces challenges such as ecological degradation and industrial transformation. Relevance to the congress themes This study is guided by SDGs goals and resilience planning, and based on the spatial planning practices in Luxi over the past decade, summarizes a systematic planning framework suitable for karst areas. This framework focuses on the synergy of ecological restoration and low-carbon transformation strategies, equipped with a quantifiable effectiveness evaluation system, and provides a replicable planning paradigm for similar ecologically fragile areas. The ecological restoration path includes a series of natural restoration plans, improvement measures, and resilience facility projects to cope with extreme weather conditions. The low-carbon transformation mainly includes compact urban spatial layout, spatiotemporal allocation of water resources, and energy solutions. Contribution to planning or policy making practice The study employs the "practice review and quantitative verification" methodology to identify ecologically sensitive areas and suitable zones for urban development through GIS spatial analysis. Utilizing long-term monitoring data spanning from 2015 to 2024, it evaluates the spatiotemporal coupling effects of ecological restoration, low-carbon transformation initiatives, and ecological condition improvements. Evaluation indicators encompass forest coverage rate, rocky desertification control rate, wetland ecological function recovery degree, proportion of renewable energy, the decline rate of energy consumption per unit of GDP, and the water supply guarantee rate under extreme weather conditions. Effective ecological restoration strategies including: prioritizing the delineation of ecological protection red lines based on rigid control measures; implementing phased greening of mines to expedite vegetation restoration; constructing national wetland parks to enhance flood storage capacity, establishing geological parks to preserve the integrity of karst landscapes, and curbing the encroachment of green spaces. Effective low-carbon transformation strategies including: centering on elastic adaptation, consolidating the layout of industrial parks within development boundaries to enhance land use intensity and eliminating outdated industries with scattered layouts; establishing a collaborative system integrating "wind power, photovoltaic power, hydropower, and pumped storage" to reduce CO₂ emissions; leveraging pumped storage reservoirs and wetland park systems to achieve spatiotemporal allocation of water resources, thereby improving water supply guarantees during extreme weather and concurrently optimizing the living environment.

Extreme heat events increasingly threaten the functionality and livability of cities. While dominant urban planning practices prioritize green infrastructure as a cooling strategy, they often underappreciate the fundamental influence of spatial system structures on the resilience of urban environments. This study proposes a conceptual framework to simulate the coupling between street networks and green infrastructure networks under thermal stress, identify structural vulnerabilities, and provide early warnings of potential systemic failures, thereby supporting proactive climate adaptation in the face of escalating climate extremes. Amid the compounding challenges of intensifying heat risks and increasing urban vulnerability, expanding the theoretical understanding of spatial systems' role in climate adaptation has become imperative. Drawing on spatial morphology, climate adaptation theory, and complex systems science, this study develops a dynamic network analysis framework centered on structural resilience. While existing approaches often conceptualize green infrastructure as fixed green features contributing to cooling, this framework emphasizes their topological interdependence with street networks and introduces a compound systems perspective grounded in structural connectivity, thereby reframing the logic of heat adaptation in urban planning. The proposed structural adaptation framework addresses the challenge of enhancing the capacity of urban systems to reorganize and adapt under climatic stress. It anticipates the growing frequency of extreme heat events and increasing infrastructure pressures, and underscores the importance of incorporating spatial connectivity, redundancy, and ecological coherence into planning responses. By adopting a structural resilience perspective, this study offers a methodological contribution that can inform spatial planning practices and support interventions aimed at maintaining the continuity of critical urban structures under extreme heat conditions. This research introduces a transferable spatial analysis framework to support anticipatory assessment and scenario-based simulation of structural resilience under extreme heat. Focusing on the coupled structure of street networks and green infrastructure, the framework reveals how spatial network configurations influence the system’s capacity to respond to and recover from thermal disturbances. By integrating network analysis and remote sensing techniques, the study establishes two core resilience indicators: the topological robustness of spatial networks and the ecological connectivity of green infrastructure. Rather than relying on existing static vulnerability assessments, the framework incorporates dynamic mechanisms of structural resilience, offering planners more adaptive tools for spatial intervention. It enables the identification of structural patterns that are vulnerable to fragmentation or susceptible to heat accumulation, thereby guiding the prioritization of shaded areas, green space connectivity, and accessible pathways during extreme heat events. The study also introduces the concept of "critical coupling zones" to identify sensitive nodes within the coupled system of green infrastructure and spatial networks that require prioritized intervention. As integrated planning tools that account for infrastructure performance, ecological function, and social equity become increasingly essential, this framework provides both theoretical grounding and actionable strategies for urban heat adaptation—supporting a shift from passive mitigation toward proactive governance and contributing to enhanced urban resilience under climate extremes.

Milan Canal sits at the heart of Milan as the main waterway that characterize the city’s fabric, history and future trajectory. The city spans a monsoonal estuary that is soaked by a network of canals, back waters and rainfall. Water is integral to Milan’s unique identity but climate change and unsustainable patterns of urbanization threaten the balance between nature and society, land, and water. Milan faces multiple issues of flooding, aquifer depletion, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion. These interlinked risks are amplified by urbanization. Canals that once linked waterways are concreted over, compromised over gray infrastructure polluted or clogged by waste. Covid-19 and the recent floods have exposed compounding socio- economic vulnerabilities as well as the resilience of Italy’s social institutions and local communities. Our project leverages Milan’s , natural assets , rainy culture and social capital to make the city more resilient , vibrant and inclusive . We take the inspiration from the proximity of a green city to the rainforests of western ghats and traditional practices that sustain these landscapes. Navigi is hydrologically linked The design of Navigli Milan canal presents an opportunity for redevelopment of the entire canal network of Milan. The 3 strategies of collect, connect and create serve as a template that is scalable and can be adapted to other canals of the city by making the local users and residents custodians of the shared ecosystem. The historic tidal canal is reimagined as a civic ecological asset for the community where the everyday experience along the canal has been designed as a storytelling narrative from the metro terminal to the boat ferry and backwaters. It culminates in a floating ramp pier which makes Milan drive accessible for all and acts a landmark. Similar nodal points at the end of each canal along the promenade will act as the gateway to Navigli from the sea, stitched into the daily journey of the ferry passenger. Collect: Space for Water: Spillover nodes have been created at various stretches along the canal by naturalizing the edges to a wider basin. This will allow water to swell during monsoons and tidal flow, in order to increase retention capacity of the catchment. In dry seasons the same space will act as a vibrant multi-use public space. Connect: Stitch it Back: The canal has been designed to re integrate it into the urban fabric of the city, restore its ecology and reclaim its identity. Today, the canal exists only as a drain in the backyard of houses. The design strives to stitch it back into the daily lives of the locals through visual, physical and psychological connections to the water. Create: Art on the Canal: The city has emerged as a new tourist destination for art and culture due to the vintage and model fashion collection of Milan, Italy over the past years. While this has been welcomed by the locals, most the events are limited to along the banks of Naviglio Grande and the surrounding streets. An important aim of the design is to provide public spaces for art installations, performing arts and cultural events along the canal. Design Evolution: A research center with state of art library is designed at university site in area 6 respecting the potential to connect with the waterfront. The design aims for sustainability and a responsible design which integrates to the existing landscape and contributes to flood mitigation by providing an open space for informal meetings which acts as a detention pond during rain - The conflict between various modes such as pedestrians, private vehicles, taxis, autos and buses was a major issue. Thus, has been carefully resolved by introducing a roundabout and crossing which facilitates smooth movement of all modes without conflict. - At present a single heavy rain results in flash flooding of the entire Milan canal and adjacent areas, which hampers the public transport. The cause is analyzed and solved through a creative idea of introducing a rain garden. This will act a flexible interactive space which transforms to a deletion pond during the events of flooding - This place is a derivative of creative placemaking and flood mitigation strategy. Here the Milan canal is widened to increase its capacity, and a canal lock is proposed to prevent water inflow from the smaller canal. This small, yet functional space will be treated as a public open space where various natural elements culminate. There will be a pedestrian connection to the proposed green corridor at this location. - At this location, a small yet vibrant commercial space is designed to match the bygone identity of Milan’s lost floating market. This will in turn become a landmark element which attracts foot fall and builds a strong business case for the stakeholders. There is a direct connection from this market to the footbridges over Milan canal which further connects the pedestrians to area six - A typical section of Milan canal from the 8 km long canal to area 6 is characterized by its smaller width covered with concrete slabs for parking which leads to anaerobic activities. The canal faces siltation issues as well. The land use analysis informs that the canal is lined with commercial or mixed-use buildings, where providing access in inevitable. - The core design intent here is to revive the canal by opening it up and at the same time respecting the needs of stakeholders. The solution here is to provide a continuous foot bridge with inclusive entry/exit points at intervals. - Currents fashion street is located on concrete slabs above the Milan canal. The University Park is a narrow park along Milan canal with boundary wall all along the edges restricting its active use. - The hospital street is raised on stilts to open up the canal without compromising on infrastructure and children’s playing equipment and exercise machines, which in turn contribute to the health and wellbeing of the people. - A research center with state of art library is designed at hospital, university and park intersection in area 6 respecting the potential to connect with the waterfront. The design aims for sustainability and a responsible design which integrates to the existing landscape and contributes to flood mitigation by providing an open space for informal meetings which acts a detention pond during rain - A portion of the Navigli waste collection point which is currently neglected in converted to an active public space by providing a playgroud and an informal weekly market overlooking the canal. This helps in establishing a connection with the hospital area and canal. - The university area is revived as a commercially important site that equally respects the community values and archeology enthusiasts. - The canal edge along the University Park is softened to improve the stormwater management. The canal is wider and transforms to a tangible feature of this location by providing direct access to it. Several activities such as kayaking and pedal boating are introduced to attract people. - - he proposed restoration of the Navigli canals in Milan sparks debate within urban planning circles, touching upon key themes like: - • Reclaiming Public Space and Green Infrastructure: Restoration aims to revitalize underutilized areas along the canals into accessible public spaces, enhancing recreational amenities, green spaces, and reducing traffic congestion. - • Integrating Water into Urban Environments: Recognizing the historic significance and potential of Milan's water system, restoration projects like "daylighting" (uncovering buried canals) aim to reintroduce water as a key element of the cityscape. This initiative, along with others such as the renovation of drains, canals, and reservoirs in Singapore's ABC Waters program, highlights the increasing focus on the role of water in enhancing urban resilience, ecological connectivity, and the quality of public spaces. - • Balancing Development with Environmental and Heritage Considerations: The debates consider not only the economic benefits of restoration, such as increased property values and tourism, but also the need to address concerns like managing potential traffic disruption during construction and ensuring long-term ecological sustainability. - Lessons and recommendations for other cities - • Prioritize Citizen Participation and Stakeholder Engagement: The Milanese public actively participated in referendums and consultations regarding the Navigli project, demonstrating the importance of involving residents in urban transformation initiatives to gauge public and private benefits and address concerns like potential disruptions. - • Assess Benefits Comprehensively: The Navigli case highlights the challenge of quantifying the full range of benefits from urban regeneration projects, extending beyond direct revenues to include improved quality of life, environmental quality, reduced externalities (noise, pollution), and increased recreational opportunities. - • Consider Long-Term Sustainability and Environmental Impact: Milan's restoration efforts address concerns like flooding and pollution by reconnecting with its historic water systems, providing lessons for other cities grappling with urban water management challenges in the face of climate change, according to a study published by the European Association for Architectural Education. - • Learn from International Examples: Milan's efforts to "daylight" canals can draw inspiration from successful projects in other European cities, such as the Catharijnesingel in Utrecht and the Bièvre in Paris, potentially encouraging a shift towards a more sustainable urban model with fewer cars and more green spaces, notes The Times.

Background: Facing one of the world’s harshest desert climates, Abu Dhabi is on the frontline of tackling the intensifying threats of extreme heat and urban heat islands. The Gulf region, where many Arab cities are located, is experiencing some of the fastest rising temperatures globally, presenting urgent challenges for urban livability. In response, the Abu Dhabi Climate Resilience Initiative, developed by CBT Architects and SLA with the government of Abu Dhabi, introduces a citywide public realm improvement strategy aimed at enhancing pedestrian thermal comfort through tactical urban interventions. Three prototypical pilot projects, a pocket park, a mosque plaza, and an urban intersection, showcase innovative, context-sensitive approaches to reimagining outdoor spaces, creating cool zones and promoting healthy, sustainable urban living. Relevance to Congress Themes: Aligned with the Congress theme “Cities & Regions in Action: Planning Pathways to Resilience and Quality of Life”, the Abu Dhabi Climate Resilience Initiative exemplifies how dynamic cities can adapt to the convergence of climate crises by localizing global frameworks into actionable urban solutions. Addressing resilience at the urban scale, the initiative translates climate action commitments into human-centered design strategies that enhance urban quality of life. Its multi-layered cooling approach integrates shading, conductive and evaporative cooling, wind channeling, and innovative materials while drawing inspiration from local heritage, such as Al Sadu weaving for shading structures. These strategies collectively mitigate the urban heat island effect, extend the duration of usable public space, and enhance well-being. The initiative’s use of evidence-based design and post-occupancy evaluations provides a replicable model for other cities across the Arab world and beyond, especially those facing extreme climatic conditions. By rethinking traditional urban planning paradigms and prototyping resilient, community-focused interventions, the project reflects the Congress’s call for building resilience pathways for present and future generations amid volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Contribution to Planning or Policy-Making Practice: The pilot projects move beyond theoretical constructs and offer a robust, field-tested approach to improving outdoor thermal comfort and public realm resilience. Each intervention site applies a tailored set of passive cooling strategies, including multi-functional shading structures, high-albedo and low-emissivity materials, native vegetation for microclimate creation, and evaporative cooling techniques. Underpinned by rigorous site-specific climate analysis and urban research, these strategies address both direct and indirect solar gain, wind dynamics, and user comfort profiles. Importantly, the interventions prioritize "shoulder seasons" to maximize year-round usability of public spaces, balancing cost-effectiveness with tangible impact. Post-occupancy data show a reduction of 9 to 10°C in the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), validating the initiative’s multi-layered cooling methodology. The approach offers a scalable, modular framework adaptable to diverse urban conditions, emphasizing cultural relevance, affordability, and environmental sustainability. It informs urban resilience strategies by focusing on livability enhancements that are accessible to a broad demographic, encouraging a shift from air-conditioned dependency toward healthier outdoor urban lifestyles. By embedding resilience principles into everyday public spaces, the Abu Dhabi Climate Resilience Initiative advances policy discussions on sustainable urban development and climate adaptation. It provides transferable, actionable insights for cities globally, especially across the Gulf and wider Arab region, where extreme heat resilience is a critical necessity for safeguarding the quality of urban life.

Cities in arid and semi-arid regions face extreme temperatures, often exceeding 45°C, along with prolonged heatwaves and restricted outdoor livability. Yet urban environments are often limited in basic aspects like shade, breathable materials and pedestrian-scale design. This has led to compromised walkability, underutilized public spaces and weakened daytime economy. As climate change intensifies, these gaps reveal deep urban vulnerabilities. This vision framework identifies shade as a critical urban infrastructure, a vital layer of thermal comfort in hot urban climates and calls for climate-resilient spatial planning that fosters active public realm, enables walkability and strengthens daytime economy — directly aligning with Track 3: Adaptation of Dynamic Cities to Extreme Climatic Conditions. As cities strive to implement global climate goals locally, thermal comfort in the public realm, often remains neglected. This vision situates thermal comfort to the heart of urban resilience. It presents a strategic framework that harmonizes climate-responsive public realm design with locally adapted urban solutions, ensuring a future where urban spaces thrive, even under extreme heat. Building upon adaptive urban forms like courtyards, arcades and colonnades, this vision advocates for a shift from reactive cooling solutions, such as air conditioning, to proactive design strategies such as shade continuity, thermal zoning and wind corridors. This proposal presents a comprehensive planning and policy framework for climate-resilient public realm in cities facing extreme heat, positioning shade as an essential urban infrastructure. The strategies include: (1) Develop shade Index and urban heat mapping as a spatial diagnostic tool that maps urban heat vulnerability and identifies both the extent and nature of shade-deficit areas across the city. By layering data on land use, mobility, demography and microclimate, the Index enables targeted, place-specific interventions. These high-heat zones can then be prioritized for investment in appropriate shade infrastructure. The Index also helps integrate thermal comfort into zoning regulations, building codes and planning policies. (2) Introduce strategic shade-responsive zoning overlays linked with economic incentives to attract and retain businesses in heat-adapted corridors. These may include relaxed FAR, tax benefits for shaded retrofits or targeted activation of public markets, street economies and public amenities. This integrates climate resilience with local economic growth initiatives as well as improved urban amenities. (3) Prepare shade-led thermal design for buildings and urban Layouts, especially for public and semi-public uses. These include building orientation, block lengths, pedestrian shading and integration of green-blue infrastructure. Embedding these into development control regulations and design codes will ensure future growth is thermally responsive and promotes inclusive public realm. (4) Implement city-wide shade continuum along key urban corridors linking all important public places. These corridors should be designed as an active public realm, ensuring they are accessible, shaded and designed to facilitate unhindered walkability and cyclability. These corridors limit car access and support daytime economy. (5) Establish shade governance mechanisms for cross-sector coordination to embed shade as a planning priority. This includes forming task force(s) and integrating shade-related targets into municipal performance systems, ensuring long-term accountability and implementation. (6) Empower communities to co-design shade by leading shade audits and co-design projects in vulnerable areas, embedding lived experiences in urban resilience efforts. It also fosters public stewardship of these spaces. The overall framework aims to enhance thermal comfort, promote equity and stimulate economic vitality through the development of shaded public realm—ensuring that cities not only withstand extreme heat, but thrive in spite of it.

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe across Canada, including regions historically unaccustomed to large-scale fire events. In 2023, Nova Scotia experienced two major wildfires, including the Tantallon fire near Halifax urban core, which forced the evacuation of over 16,000 residents and destroyed more than 150 homes. These events highlight the growing need for rapid, effective emergency evacuation planning, especially as wildfire spreads quickly and unpredictably. Traditional emergency alert systems may not be able to keep pace with the real-time demands of fast-moving crises. Increasingly, residents turn to social media platforms such as Twitter to share updates, express concerns, and seek information for evacuation and shelters. This paper utilizes a systematic approach for collecting and interpreting social media data to better understand public discourse during climate-related emergencies. Using Twitter analytics software, over 15,800 tweets, retweets, and replies related to the Tantallon fire were collected between May 30 and June 9, 2023. Tweets were gathered using three keyword combinations referencing local place names and the fire. A stratified sample of tweets from four key time periods was manually coded using qualitative analysis software. Next, the study applies text mining and topic modelling techniques to the tweets to determine the prominent themes and topics discussed during the wildfire evacuation period to understand the public discourse in relation to emergency evacuation planning. The results showed that nearly 80 percent of the collected posts were retweets, largely of official information shared by local news organizations, government agencies, and emergency responders. These accounts became critical sources of information for the public. Original tweets included personal reflections, expressions of concern, and calls for help for evacuation and shelters. Early in the crisis, tweets primarily focused on fire size, evacuation orders, and road closures. As the situation evolved and containment efforts progressed, public messaging shifted toward support for evacuees, logistical updates about re-entry, and expressions of gratitude toward emergency personnel. By the end of the observation period, social media posts reflected a return to normalcy, with many users sharing images of damage or offering personal stories of resilience. The study demonstrates that Twitter played an important role in real-time crisis communication during the Tantallon wildfire. The prevalence of information-sharing, particularly through retweets, confirms that during disasters, government accounts and local media serve as vital conduits for public knowledge. The evolving themes across the study period suggest that social media can provide insights into the changing needs, emotions, and concerns of affected communities. Finally, the results of the public discourse identified that evacuees were challenged by the lack of information on evacuation routes, temporary roadway measures and shelter provisions, among others. The findings of the research provide valuable insights on emergency response and disaster management. It is evident that social media could provide emergency planners a newer tool to communicate about evacuation plans, emergency routes, contra-flow measures on roadways, live updates on road closures and congestions, emergency transit services and shelter locations. The public discourse also identified vulnerabilities in transport network, and highlighted adoption of medium and long-term planning measures, including planning for multiple egress route for older subdivisions, traffic countermeasures (e.g., contra-flow, staged evacuation), and demarcation of emergency routes in urban areas. The lessons learned from this study will guide municipalities across Canada to develop transportation plans for mass evacuation, and prepare cities to adapt with the increasingly frequent extreme events amid climate crisis.