Diminishing Opportunities for Sustainability of Coastal Cities in the Anthropocene: A Review

The world is urbanizing most rapidly in tropical to sub-temperate areas and coastal zones. Climate change along with other global forcings will diminish the opportunities for sustainability of cities, especially low-income countries. include temperature heatwave increases that are expanding equatorial belt, sea-level rise, an increase frequency intense cyclones, both decreases freshwater inputs zones, increasingly severe extreme precipitation events, droughts, shortages, heat waves, wildfires. Current climate impacts already strongly influencing natural human systems. Because proximity several key warming variables such as rise increasing intensity heatwaves, cities a leading indicator what may occur worldwide. alone resilience tropical-subtropical but combined changes, this suite represents existential threat, cities. Urbanization has coincided orders magnitude per capita GDP, energy use greenhouse gas emissions, which turn led unprecedented demand resources degradation systems more expensive infrastructure sustain flows these resources. Most fuel extracted from ex-urban far away their point final use. urban transition over last 200 years hallmark Anthropocene coinciding large surges energy, principally fossil fuels, population, consumption economic growth, environmental system change. Fossil enabled underwrote origins fueled dramatic expansion modern It be difficult renewable non-fossil sources ramp up fast enough further growth maintenance reverse all while minimizing degradation. Given trajectories, future urbanization trends, threatened like zones countries sub-tropical likely diminish. Adaptation limited challenging implement,