Adaptive Planning and Climate Focused Evaluation in an Era of Evolving Local Governance

The interconnected relationship between cities and global climate change has led to the creation of a growing number of municipal climate change adaptation plans. Currently, there exist relatively few well known criteria on the best ways to evaluate these documents following their implementation. This study begins with a review of evaluation literature and policy reports drawn from four principle agencies considered to be at the forefront of climate change adaptation planning in Canada. Findings are then used to explore how the Cities of Toronto and New York have successfully incorporated evaluation criteria into their adaptation plans. Lessons are presented for both planning practitioners and local governments concerning the implementation of successful climate-focused evaluation criteria. Overall findings suggest that numerous tools exist for evaluating adaptation plans including important performance-based approaches. Agency commitment and persons assigned to conduct the evaluation as well as integration into an ongoing planning process were also found to be key success factors while evaluation outcomes were found to reflect the resources and expertise available given the present voluntary nature of climate plans.