PERI-CENE

The PERI-CENE (peri-urbanization & climate environment) project will provide the first ever comprehensive assessment of global peri-urbanisation, with its climate impacts, risks and vulnerabilities.

A drawing of a hill and farmland landscape

The impact of climate change on cities is well known – but the 'peri-urban' hinterland, the areas between and around cities, is often overlooked. Yet the peri-urban contains most urban growth, and also the greatest impact on local and global environments.  The peri-urban also is the source of adaptative capacity & ecosystem services.

We aim to provide a global assessment with an interactive Peri-urban Analysis Tool, and local dialogues with the interactive Pathways Tool. We will host the co-creation of adaptive pathways, in a Policy Lab of 21 city-regions from around the world, along with in-depth case studies in Chennai (India), and Manchester (UK). 

Aims and objectives

The overall aim:

Explore the interactions between peri-urbanization and climate-environmental change, at local and global levels:  and to co-design adaptive pathways towards peri-urban climate resilience.

Specific objectives

  • Develop a typology and global assessment which covers all main development types and urban-climate-environment types.
  • Outline the typical peri-urban impacts/effects on climate-environment change, in their context of urban and regional inter-dependencies.
  • Outline the typical climate-environment impacts/effects on peri-urban areas, in the context of risk, vulnerability and resilience.
  • Explore the deeper layers of peri-urban / climate-environment interactions via in-depth case studies.
  • Explore possible solutions in the form of adaptive pathways and strategic policy intelligence, by stakeholder dialogue and co-design in a Living Lab context.

Approaches and methods

  • Spatial analysis
  • Global comparative study via the peri-cene framework
  • Grounded case studies
  • Policy & governance analysis
  • Synergistic methods for pathway mapping & design

Expected results and impacts

  • a global typology and global assessment with an interactive Peri-urban Analysis Tool;
  • new synergies and pathways to address the policy challenges in a global ‘Policy Lab’
  • in-depth case studies in Chennai, India and Manchester, UK; and,
  • adaptive pathways to mobilise collective climate intelligence to address peri-urbanisation and climate risk at local, regional and international scales.

Involved cities

Main case studies:

  • Chennai, India:
  • Manchester region

Policy Lab partners

  • Melbourne,
  • Tokyo,
  • Guangzhou,
  • Changsha,
  • Surabaya,
  • Bangkok,
  • Dhaka,
  • Doha,
  • Cairo,
  • Johannesburg,
  • Kumasi,
  • Naples,
  • Granada,
  • Helsinki,
  • Belo Horizonte,
  • Toronto,
  • Santiago
  • San Diego,
  • Mexicali

International partners:

UN Habitat, UN Global Compact on Cities, and ICLEI

Key facts

  • Duration – 2019-2021
  • Budget - £696,000
  • Partners – KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm: Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Contact