A “Local Climate Zone” based approach to urban planning in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Integrating climate-sensitive design with the local planning process is fundamental to managing the warming trend in the growing high-density tropical cities. However, the current planning regime is yet to address the challenges posed by local, regional and global warming. An in-depth understanding of the interaction between the physical form and the climatic context is beginning to emerge but, data needs and methods of analysis remain problematic at present to translate this into practical planning applications. In this paper, we showcase a simpler method of contextual analysis using the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) system and draw lessons for climate-sensitive planning in warm humid Colombo, Sri Lanka and other data-poor developing cities.