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The Findings from Innovate4Cities 2021 and Update to the Global Research and Action Agenda details the research, policy, and public discussions key to advancing climate research and action in cities. This report documents key outcomes of the Innovate4Cities 2021 Conference (October 2021) and highlights current objectives and motivations, research gaps and priorities. Furthermore, this document presents a regional analysis of research and innovation needs falling under the original GRAA topical research areas and cross cutting issues (Edmonton 2018) and expanding to issues which emerged between the 2018 and 2021 conferences. This report has been developed by Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) and UN-Habitat based on the outcomes of 2021 Innovate4Cities Conference co-hosted by UN-Habitat, GCoM and co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is intended to inform research, policy and public discussions on the global research and action agenda for cities and climate change science. The authors have sought to ensure the accuracy of the material in this document, but they will not be liable for any ramifications incurred through the use of this report.

The governing of nature has been an essential part of the story of urbanization. Whether through the conversion of rivers for transportation, the creation of urban drainage systems for wastewater removal or the installation of parks for their recreational and aesthetic value (Gandy, 2004; Gleeson and Low, 2000; Rydin, 1998), nature has played a critical role in urban development. Yet, conservationist thinking, which has dominated environmental governance and policy, has tended to equate the environment as belonging to either “rural” or “wilderness” places that needed to be protected from the encroachment of (urban) society (Owens, 1992). As a result, much of the governance of biodiversity at the urban scale during the twentieth century was focused on the designation and enforcement of protected areas (Vaccaro et al., 2013).

This commentary from the Journal Editorial Board sets out the research agenda for the journal and invites contributions. We want to elicit and synthesize research- and practice-based knowledge toward the goal of resilient, equitable cities in a world with less than 1.5°C of warming, focusing on the transformational change needed to achieve this goal. Within this focus, we set out two primary areas that are pivotal to demonstrate the economic and political strategies necessary to stop climate breakdown: ecologically and socially viable and just economic systems; and purposeful, progressive, and inclusive government and governance. We set out key principles of transformational change and invite a plurality of conceptualizations, particularly emphasizing the need and potential of drawing on emerging thinking at regional, national, and international levels and applying it to city-scale. We outline the need for action-oriented, policy-relevant research in collaboration with city actors, tackling priority challenges in real-time, as well as an openness to new knowledge, perspectives, and contributors. We aim to catalyze and realize the opportunity to combine collective city action with academic (re-)thinking and research activism, in order to empower mayors with the evidence and narrative to create sustainable, thriving cities.

The City Research and Innovation Agenda, is built on a cross-sector evidence base - the Global Research Action Agenda for Cities Climate Change Science, 2018 & the Findings from Innovate4Cities Conference 2021 and updated Global Research Action Agenda for Cities Climate Change Science. The City Research and Innovation Agenda identifies the global and regional priorities that can enable local governments to rapidly and holistically transform ambition into implementation. It was developed by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, with partners in the Research and Innovation Technical Working Group, and Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne. Suggested citation: Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (2022). City Research and Innovation Agenda, update. Oke, C., Walsh, B., Jance, B., Hadfield, P., Palermo, V., Salehi, P., Assalini, S., Badino, M., Barth, B., Bertoldi, P., Deacon, A., Del Rio,I., Huxley, R., Mansutti, E., McGregor, M., Moura, E., Sari, A,. Sasmaz, D., Soares, R., Strachan, K., Tacconi, M., and Zhu, S. (Eds). Online resource