Challenge accepted – identifying barriers and facilitating climate change adaptation in spatial development across planning boundaries, sectors and planning levels

Abstract

Spatial planning influences diverse sectors, including housing, industry, forestry, agriculture, tourism, and nature conservation. Accordingly, climate change adaptation (CCA) strategies stress the need to integrate climate considerations into spatial plans, programs, and response strategies. However, prior studies highlight gaps in cooperation across planning levels, sectors and borders, as well as insufficient integration of sectoral data. Therefore, this paper (i) identifies and classifies challenges arising from existing CCA efforts across planning areas, levels, and sectors; (ii) investigates structural mechanisms underlying key cooperation barriers; and (iii) outlines leverage points to promote integrated spatial planning for climate resilience. Empirical findings from qualitative interviews and workshops using backcasting methods with case studies enable comparison across governance levels and federal states, shedding light on vertical and horizontal collaboration and disciplinary perspectives.

Results show that transparent communication of trade-offs and co-development of synergistic solutions remain rare, largely driven by individual initiative rather than institutional practices or frameworks. This poses a challenge given spatial planning’s coordinating role. Nonetheless, the analysis results reveal growing interest from sectors such as water management, forestry, green space planning, and geology to formally engage with spatial planners. A key barrier is the diversity of planning instruments across governance levels and the limited capacity to interpret them cross-sectorally, reflecting broader issues around institutional and individual capacity, resources, and knowledge. This paper contributes to the discourse on enabling transformative change, identifying leverage points for a strategic, integrated spatial planning approach that incorporates CCA, informed by sectoral expertise and applicable across planning hierarchies and boundaries.