The intensification of global climate change poses unprecedented challenges and transformational demands on resource management. China has set a “dual-carbon” target in 2020, aiming to realize a more sustainable resource management transition. In this process, urban and rural planning plays a crucial role as a public intervention on spatial resources management. Based on national and international scientific literature, this paper reviews the role of urban and rural planning in the fight against climate change, the importance of local governance and the challenges it encounters. It then summarizes the national laws and policies that have been proposed or revised in France in response to climate change since the turn of the century, as well as their trends and characteristics. On this basis, the paper introduces the five papers in this special issue. Finally, it briefly discusses lessons from the French experience for the transformation of local governance of planning in China in the context of climate change.

The planning and governance of urban mobility play a crucial role in tackling climate change. France, as a pioneer in climate action, has accumulated rich practical experience in urban mobility governance in response to climate change. This paper first outlines the core concepts, logical evolution, and overall framework of mobility governance for decarbonization in France. It then undertakes a cross-observation of the planning practices in two representative metropolitan areas, Grand Paris and Bordeaux, from aspects such as policy goals, governance logic, and implementation models. Based on this analysis, the paper distills several lessons that may inform urban mobility planning for Chinese cities. First, planning strategies and measures should be clearly organized and focused on the central objective, such as the decarbonization. Second, governance thinking needs to shift from passive resistance toward proactive adaptation. Third, effective planning implementation relies on the integration of national strategic guidance with local initiative, including encouraging local innovation and adopting differentiated approaches to enhance governance outcomes.

More than a passing trend, urban agriculture has become a part of modern cities. According to some authors, it provides some ecosystem services (well-being, food, water catchment, biodiversity…) contributing to the climate resilience of cities. Although these functions are recognised, not all municipalities integrate those functions into urban planning. The survey conducted in the Ile-de-France Region on 240 land-use local plans and their integration of urban agriculture (UA) and Urban Domestic Gardens (UDG) functions and issues reveal that the most expected functions are environmental, landscape management and social. Based on empirical findings, the paper identifies the characteristics and shortcomings of integrating urban agriculture into urban planning in France, therefore proposing policy recommendations for integrating urban agriculture into climate resilience-oriented urban planning in China.

Human activity is the main source of climate change. Addressing climate change and promoting developmental transformation should fall on cities, which supply over half of the world’s population with resources for production and living. Urban production and lifestyles can be effectively transformed by the “15-minute city” concept. In order to provide local social functions including living, working, supply, health, learning, and self-development, it uses strategies like “high density, proximity, mixed functionality, and digital platforms”, in addition to remote work, green mobility, and community economies. This improves citizens’ ability to adapt to climate change while also reducing carbon emissions. The “15-minute city” approach has received multi-level support in contemporary French urban redevelopment practices, from national to local governments, from municipal authorities to community members, and from public institutions to private businesses. The “15-minute city” serves as a bridge between the Paris Climate Plan (PCP) and the PLU bioclimatique, and numerous environmental, economic, and social benefits have been attained, and it has a positive impact on governance initiatives and urban renewal strategies in other European nations. It also provids insights for contemporary research and activities on communal living circles in China.

Under the background of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and the demand for green development, the impacts of smart technology have penetrated into different aspects of urban ecological space, bringing opportunities and challenges to the research and governance of urban ecological space in the new era. This paper sorts out the impact of current smart technology on urban ecological space from three aspects: spatial organization structure, ecosystem services, and spatial governance mode. Then, we interpret the impact pathways of smart technology on urban ecological space. Finally, the characteristics and mechanisms of urban ecological space under the influence of smart technology, as well as the governance modes of urban ecological space empowered by smart technology, are proposed as the research framework in the future. This paper enriches the theoretical research of urban ecological space, and provides new ideas and methods for urban ecological space governance.

Can agriculture be the future urban landscape? The answer of the current urban studies to this question is not yet clear. The traditional modernization paradigm has a narrow understanding of agriculture, implementing urbanization model of fast and large framework, which forms the separation between agriculture and urban, and causes the multiunit crises between urban and rural, including resource crisis, environmental crisis, social crisis and economic crisis. By reflecting on the mechanical segmentation mindset that underpins traditional modernization, this paper advocates for the cultivation of an organic and holistic development outlook within the context of Chinese Path to Modernization. Combining with Chinese agricultural conditions and urban conditions, this paper points out the direction of developing urban agriculture and promoting the cooperative coexistence of agriculture and urban. Later, this paper discusses the systematic path of developing urban agriculture in China, putting forward countermeasures in planning system, management rules and participation mechanism, so as to explore the future of social development towards urban and rural common prosperity.

In the high-quality implementation phase of national park system development, implementing ecological protection, allocating management responsibilities, innovating public value, and achieving transboundary cooperation of national parks have become a pressing issue. Through multi-level governance, this paper analyzes the governance system framework of European protected areas and focuses on the transboundary cooperation practices of Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy, and Vanoise National Park, France. The research begins with a brief analysis of the geographical distribution of the national parks in Italy and France as the background to the cooperation. And then it explores the evolutionary process of the two national parks in stages, from the practical stage to the synergy stage and then to the stage of comprehensive cooperation. Next, it analyzes the cooperation modes in terms of vertical, horizontal, and hierarchical dimensions, such as institutional subject organization, joint project promotion, and strengthening of bottom-line standards. Finally, the research summarizes the experience and lessons learned from the vertical dimension of management authority and responsibility, the horizontal dimension of goal synergy, and the hierarchical dimension of indicator setting. The purpose is to provide helpful inspiration for the transboundary cooperation of national parks with Chinese characteristics.

Based on the promotion of private participation, this paper reviews the formulation changes and performance of urban renewal policies in Taiwan. Along with the policy changes, urban renewal in Taiwan has experienced a shift from public-led to private-led, and then to collaborative public-private partnerships. Now, Public-led renewal is re-emphasized in urban renewal involving public property rights and public interests. As for the performance of policy changes, Government has effectively mobilized private actors to participate in urban renewal through the transfer of planning rights, the marketization of public elements, and the endorsement of public credibility. These policies also expose the government to two long-term challenges: firstly, private actors prioritize their own interests in urban renewal projects, which do not match the government’s intentions, leading to fragmented and disorderly distribution of urban renewal projects. Secondly, private actors make excessive profits by using the government’s authorization, triggering social contradictions and conflicts, leading to the government’s credibility crisis. In terms of today’s results, marketisation of public resources has a positive effect on the promotion of private participation, while government regulation is also essential. Besides private-led urban renewal, government-led urban renewal is indispensable when public interests and public property rights are at stake. At last, this paper summarizes the experience that cities of Mainland cities can learn from Taiwan.