This Notebook is a companion resource to the Methodological Guide for the Formulation of Municipal Land Use Plan published by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEPyD) and the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (DGODT) in 2016. The Notebook and the accompanying tools and resources will help you organize and use climate information as you develop your land use plans so that you can identify the risks you should consider and address during the planning process. The Notebook can also help you to integrate climate change factors into other municipal planning and decision making, such as in your municipal development planning process.

WHO SHOULD USE THIS NOTEBOOK?

This Notebook is designed for professional staff or technical consultants who are leading or supporting a municipal land use planning process or the development of a municipal development plan. Information in the Notebook will also be useful to municipal staff and decision makers, policy makers, and stakeholders who want to better understand the relationship between climate change and municipal decisions. Some municipalities may have the staff capacity to use these tools and resources directly. Other municipalities may decide to obtain additional technical support.

WHAT DOES THE NOTEBOOK CONTAIN?

In this Notebook you will find:

• An overview of Key Concepts about climate change and the future of our cities
• An Integration Roadmap that shows the entry points for climate information into the land use planning process
• A Process Timeline that illustrates how a typical integrated land use planning process takes place over time
• Stage-by-Stage Instructions on how to integrate climate change into each stage of the land use planning process
• Assessment and Planning Tools to help you implement the steps in each Stage (Annex 1)
• Additional Resources that may be useful (Annex II)

The printed version has page numbers for key references within the Notebook and color coding to help you navigate through the document. The web-based version contains embedded hyperlinks that allow you to search easily for the information you need.

WHERE DO I START?

Where you start depends on what stage of planning you are conducting. Your municipality may have already completed some of the activities discussed in this Notebook. Start with the section that is relevant to you now. You may find it useful to flip through all the instructions to provide context. You can return to earlier sections as needed.

HOW DO I USE THE STAGE-BY-STAGE INSTRUCTIONS?

This Notebook is designed in a modular, “cookbook” format that allows you to turn to the specific section that relates to the stage of planning in which you are involved. The Stage-by-Stage Instructions sections align with the seven stages and related steps of the Guía Metodológica para la Formulación del Plan Municipal de Ordenamiento Territorial (PMOT Guide). You will want to have the PMOT Guide handy and refer to it as you use this Notebook. The Integration Roadmap shows the land use planning stages and steps, and associated climate change integration guidance, covered in each section; the relevant section of this Roadmap is repeated at the start of each section.