Urban Development and Climate Adaptation: Implications for Policymaking and Governance in Indian Cities

In recent years, numerous international actors have stepped in to support climate change adaptation efforts in developing country cities. These external interven- tions provide guidelines and strategies for incentivizing local responses to climate impacts, but their implications for on-the-ground implementation and overall urban governance are unclear. Through a critical comparative analysis of climate adaptation policymaking and planning in the Indian cities of Bhubaneswar, Indore, and Surat, this paper unpacks the various approaches to mainstreaming adaptation into urban development, interrogates the different ways to engage local actors, and identifies mismatches between designing external policy inter- ventions and implementing grounded adaptation projects and programs.