Climate change adaptation, city competitiveness and urban planning in the city of Karlstad, Sweden

Here we focus on adaption to global forces — climate change adaptation and facilitating city competiveness — in city redevelopment and planning in a Swedish city. Combining high national ambitions with strong municipalities, Sweden provides an interesting context for local climate change action. A long-term focus on how climate change has emerged in plans and policy documents is utilised. The preconditions of climate adaptation need to be situated in a wider policy context as it co-habits the municipal agenda with other issues. We conclude that the dominance of a growth imperative outweighs vulnerability to climate change risks.