Integration in urban climate adaptation: Lessons from Rotterdam on integration between scientific disciplines and integration between scientific and stakeholder knowledge

Based on the experience acquired in the Bergpolder Zuid district in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, this paper presents lessons learned so far on science-policy interactions supporting the adaptation to climate change in an urban district. Two types of integration issues were considered: (1) Integration within science including integration of disciplines, methods, models and data, and (2) integration between science and the local stakeholders' society, involving a synthesis of scientific and practical knowledge, linking sectors, governance arrangements and organisations. At first sight, the issues around integration within science and beyond the science of climate change adaptation in cities resemble those generally observed in science-policy integration. However, the relative newness of urban adaptation to climate change poses specific challenges for both the scientists and the stakeholders involved in the process. The Rotterdam example discusses the use of multiple means of integration for enhancing integration between scientific disciplines and integration between scientific and stakeholder knowledge.