Abstract
This chapter studies the relationship between climate change and the spatial distribution of population and economic activity within countries. First, the chapter reviews the literature on the spatial effects of climate change. Second, the chapter takes a look at global climatic trends and their connection with the spatial distribution of population within countries. To do so, climatic and census data for the period 1950–2015 are used and merged with satellite data on built-up areas and light intensity at night for the 1990–2015 period. The analysis of the data shows a significant role of climate change on the evolution of the spatial distribution of population. In particular, the data reveal that deteriorating climatic conditions are associated with more urbanization and larger and more fragmented cities.
This chapter is based on findings from previous research by the authors, especially in a recent paper published in the Journal of Economic Geography (available here). David Castells-Quintana acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project ID: PID2019-104723RB-I00) and of the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (Project ID: 2017SGR1301). Thomas McDermott acknowledges funding from the Irish Research Council (Project ID: GOIPD/2017/1147).
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Castells-Quintana, D., Krause, M., McDermott, T.K.J. (2023). Climate Change and the Spatial Concentration of Population. In: Brinkmann, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01949-4_25
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