The paper draws on Colombo, Sri Lanka as the case study for developing Water Sensitive Planning and Design (WSPD) to deliver a flood resilient urban environment. Digital data and documentary data were evaluated to analyse water sensitive characteristics, potentials and constraints within the catchment. Spatial analysis tools in ArcGIS were used when analysing issues in the landscape mosaic. Evaluation of the landscape mosaic clearly identifies urban form and its significant issues in creating ecological links and patches, such as, marshes, streams, roads and shrubs that can create potential opportunities during stormwater management. Geographically, the low-lying area plays an important role as the natural detention/retention basin for stormwater of the urban catchment during intensive rainfall. In addition, increased impervious surfaces created by high-density urban development and the limited availability of space have created challenges for retrofitting additional stormwater infrastructure. The study identifies the important role that urban planning can play in safeguarding strategies to deal with urban water related issues in more compromising and accommodating ways when situating stormwater infrastructure to optimise the connectivity and corridors. The study demonstrated the importance of street layouts in the urban landscape to support the development of WSPD. This approach provides sustainable ecological protection and outcomes to achieve a flood resilient environment in the catchment.

This research paper interrogates the extent to which indigenous, ethnic, and racial diversity is substantively integrated into climate justice discussions with a focus on New Zealand’s climate change adaptation policies. A qualitative research design is used, employing a documentary analysis and summative content analysis to scrutinise New Zealand climate change adaptation policies and their responsiveness to indigenous, ethnic and racial diversity within the ambit of climate justice. This study aims to measure the extent to which these policies promote inclusive and equitable climate adaptation outcomes. This study makes a significant contribution to the nuanced understanding of climate justice research, particularly regarding indigenous and ethnic minority communities. The study is expected to contribute to the existing knowledge base and inform the formulation of inclusive policies that integrate the diverse perspectives of these communities into climate adaptation and policy-making processes. The research findings highlight existing gaps and emphasise the importance of incorporating indigenous, ethnic, and racial diversity into policy development and implementation. The aim is to shape climate adaptation strategies that are representative of aware of insights from various communities in contemporary cities.