Urban Climatology Applied to Urban Planning: A Postwar Knowledge Circulation Failure

Abstract

Abstract The article discusses an instance of knowledge that failed to circulate — the application of urban climatology in town planning. This field of applied science was systematized in German‐speaking universities and cities and remains most firmly established in N orth‐ C entral E urope. In the decades after the second world war successive commissions and study groups of the W orld M eteorological O rganization, the I nternational F ederation of H ousing and P lanning, the C onfédération I nternationale du B âtiment and the I nternational S ociety for B iometeorology sought to spread awareness of climatological factors among planners and architects worldwide. The article examines the organizations and individuals involved in this campaign, describes their meetings, publications and outreach, and assesses the disappointing impact. The legacy of this failure is considered in the context of present‐day interest in planning for carbon mitigation and climate‐change adaptation.