Climate change is causing more extreme weather events. To build resilience against these events, cities and urban areas must adapt. However, there is a gap in the literature on how theoretical insights and practical knowledge translate into actual decision-making in urban climate change adaptation. Understanding how decision-makers in municipalities make decisions for urban climate change adaptation, is an important missing link to achieving more effective adaptation through policy and action. To address this, the following main research question is explored: ”How do municipal level decision-makers perceive the decision-making processes around municipal climate change adaptation for extreme precipitation events and the factors that influence them?”

By answering this question, the study contributed to Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable (Independent Group of Scientists, 2023). This study has provided insight into how Dutch municipalities shape climate change adaptation measures by investigating the decision-making processes of municipal decision-makers by using the Nutt (2008) phases model. This model includes five phases. The first is the ”intelligence gathering” phase, where projects are initiated. Tactics in this phase include ”needs” and ”opportunities”. The next phase is the ”directions from”, where possible solution paths are explored using tactics such as ”idea”, ”objectives” or ”problems”. Then follows the solution found by phase, where concrete options are developed using the tactics ”benchmark”, ”idea”, ”innovation”, or ”solicitation”. These options are compared in the ”evaluation” phase, using tactics such as ”analysis”, ”judgment”, and ”bargaining”. The final ”implementation” phase involves choosing and mandating actions through tactics ”edict”, ”persuasion”, ”participation”, or ”intervention”. In addition to identifying these phases and tactics, the research also explores contextual factors and perceptions that influence decision-making throughout the process. To do so, thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with municipal decision-makers from various Dutch municipalities.
Decisions on climate change adaptation for extreme precipitation tend to follow a similar structure across municipalities...