🧠Decision Support and Scenario Modelling Tools
Athens
Broward County
London
New Orleans
Quito
Rio de Janeiro
Singapore
Cities are relying on tools that model climate and hazard scenarios, simulate impacts and support evidence-based decision-making by comparing resilience options at neighborhood and citywide scales.
How cities are applying it
- Singapore uses neighbourhood-scale climate simulations to analyse how building form, vegetation and surface materials influence local temperatures. These insights guide targeted cooling strategies for dense urban areas.
- In Rio de Janeiro, Broward County and Athens, the Flood Adapt tool has enabled agencies to simulate how rainfall events, drainage configurations and infrastructure upgrades perform under future climate conditions. This helps prioritise measures that deliver the greatest risk reduction.
- In London, New Orleans and Quito, scenario tools and resilience assessments have been applied to evaluate climate exposure, identify systemic vulnerabilities and compare long-term adaptation pathways.
Together, these examples show how modelling approaches give cities a clearer view of future risks and unlock more strategic choices for resilience planning and investment.
Why it matters
Modelling helps cities move from reactive planning to anticipatory, evidence-based decision-making. By testing scenarios in advance, governments can weigh trade-offs, sequence investments and design infrastructure that performs under future climate conditions. This reduces uncertainty, strengthens accountability and helps cities direct resources toward actions with the highest impact.
Who is involved
• Planning, infrastructure and environment departments
• Water and drainage authorities
• Emergency management and public works agencies
• Climate scientists, modelling teams and academic partners
• Community-facing teams using model outputs to inform local action