Urban climate action plans in the United States: A textual content analysis and evaluation

• Textual content analysis was conducted for 203 US urban climate actions plans. • The analysis was stratified by time, region of the US, and city size. • Plans generally placed a heavy emphasis on reducing emissions. • More recent plans were more holistic and mentioned equity more frequently. Cities within the United States (US) have sought to address climate change by creating local Climate Action Plans (CAPs). This paper explores the state of urban climate planning by performing a textual content analysis of CAPs for 203 cities in the US. Specifically, the analysis quantified the degree to which CAPs emphasized each component of the following three climate planning triads: 1) greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat, and urban flooding; 2) economic, environmental, and health aspects; and 3) mitigation, adaptation, and equity-based strategies. The study also evaluated how the balance across these three climate planning triads varied spatially, temporally, and based on city population. The findings indicated that CAPs overall placed a notable emphasis on reducing emissions while adapting to localized urban climate hazards featured less frequently. More recent plans were less emissions-centric and exhibited a greater focus on equity and health. Differences across city size were also observed, as larger cities produced CAPs that more frequently mentioned health and equity as well. Overall, the analysis highlighted that a broader holistic approach focused on addressing the full spectrum of local to global climate hazards is necessary to ensure CAPs effectively protect the future livability and economic vitality of urban centers.