Greenhouse gases emissions resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels are worsening air quality and affecting the climate system. While climate change impacts on meteorological variables affects air quality by altering the concentration and distribution of pollutants, air pollution significantly influences the climate, leading to negative impacts on human health. Due to the combination of high temperatures, air pollution, and high population density, cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The planning and design of public spaces aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation can result in multiple co-benefits for human health, while reducing social inequalities. To address the major research gaps in the communication between health and planning experts, and the lack of capacity among public sectors and policy makers, it is necessary to promote capacity building and knowledge sharing between the planning and health sectors. The purpose of this article is to develop preliminary recommendations for a process that allows a comprehensive assessment of the interlinkages between climate and health, social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities, and the quality of the urban spaces, to support local governments, policymakers, and education institutions in making informed decisions for public spaces. The methods applied were a literature review and interviews with experts.

The building industry is essential for a national transition towards a circular economy (CE) in Denmark. The Danish state subsidises the Danish affordable housing sector, which is the largest single sector within the Danish building industry, making the sector an essential driver for the transition. The social components of sustainability are considered crucial to ensuring the quality of the environmental and economic components of the CE. However, social value creation (SVC) has been neglected in building processes, and public investments are being used without the policymakers thoroughly assessing the CE’s socioeconomic efficiency and effectiveness. The sector therefore needs integrated methodologies to support comprehensive decision making on the CE during construction and renovation. SVC is an apparent field for architectural firms. Two surveys were conducted among business and sustainability managers of Danish architectural firms to identify the challenges and potentials regarding assessing sustainability and SVC in architects’ practices. The results of the surveys are described and analysed in this study. Several impact categories, indicators and tools are identified, discussed and summarised in a methodological framework that can support architects in decision making about SVC in constructing and renovating affordable housing. Further refinement of the framework to support dynamic and iterative decision-making is anticipated as future work.

Cities play a leading role in climate change actions and solutions, yet city-level case study sources remain fragmented, biased towards large cities, and inaccessible to local practitioners, notably in the Global South. In response, the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) is developing a City Solutions Case Study Atlas (City CSA), a centralized and searchable online platform that integrates diverse case studies focused on climate solutions with an interactive global map containing multiple data layers. The UCCRN City CSA provides an evidence base for academics, urban policymakers, city practitioners, city networks, civil society, and the financial sector to facilitate equitable knowledge transfer and support the development and implementation of context-specific, science-informed urban climate solutions. This paper presents the framework, metadata, and structure of the UCCRN City CSA and assesses metadata search filters and large language model (LLM)-assisted discourse analysis as complementary tools for three user types.