Visiting Researcher Xu Rui joined RER to study climate resilience of urban infrastructure
Cities around the world are increasingly exposed to the impacts of climate change. More frequent heatwaves, floods, droughts and storm events are placing growing pressure on urban infrastructure systems and revealing the limits of traditional planning approaches. Strengthening urban resilience has therefore become a key priority for ensuring long-term urban development and safeguarding public services.
During his research stay at RER, Xu Rui focused on the spatial resilience of urban infrastructure in response to climate change, with a particular focus on rapidly growing metropolitan regions in China. Large urban areas such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing are currently developing multi-centered spatial structures. However, important challenges remain regarding the spatial coordination and adaptive capacity of critical infrastructure systems.
His research aims to address these challenges by developing improved methods for monitoring and assessing the resilience of urban infrastructure. The project combines disaster-scenario modelling, urban diagnostics and spatial vulnerability analysis to create a framework that allows a more detailed and spatially explicit evaluation of climate risks.
The research is conducted as a collaboration between Tongji University and the Research Group of Regional Development and Risk Management at TU Dortmund University. It also builds on the international agenda of the Urban-Act project. The results are intended to support China’s national strategy for climate-responsive spatial planning and demonstrate how international research cooperation can contribute to strengthening long-term urban resilience.
