Climate change, urban planning and environmental migrants

Climate change has emerged as a key driver of contemporary migratory movements, alongside traditional causes such as conflict, political persecution, and economic hardship. Unlike war-related or economic migration, climate-induced displacement is typically largescale, involuntary, and permanent. Environmental migrants are often compelled to abandon their territories due to extreme drought, desertification, flooding, and climate-related diseases, with many relocating to urban centres already facing significant infrastructural and environmental pressures. The arrival of these populations exacerbates existing vulnerabilities, including the urban heat island effect, soil sealing, loss of biodiversity, and the overburdening of essential services such as healthcare, housing, food supply, and waste management. Furthermore, integrating culturally diverse, non-autochthonous groups poses additional challenges for social cohesion and governance. Methodologically, this paper is grounded in a theoretical framework and a systematic review of the relevant literature. By explicitly combining the themes of environmental migration, climate change, and urban planning, this study offers a novel perspective, highlighting the urgent need for anticipatory, inclusive, and solidarity-based urban planning aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, integrating migration risk mapping to ensure sustainable and just urban development.