This chapter compares urban cooling approaches in the context of planning policies and governance instruments, using Spain and Italy as cases. It conceptualises urban cooling not merely as a technical field of intervention, but as an integrated planning issue linked to climate change adaptation, public space quality, and sustainable urban development goals. Within this scope, national climate adaptation policies, local climate action plans, and green infrastructure strategies in both countries are analysed.

The findings indicate that in Spain, urban cooling has been institutionalised within a strategic and institutional policy framework characterised by clearly defined objectives, led by municipalities, and implemented through interconnected, continuous green-blue infrastructure systems. In Italy, by contrast, urban cooling has evolved under the constraints of dense, historic urban fabrics, embedded within planning and design practices and realised through context-sensitive, incremental interventions. The comparison demonstrates that despite similar climatic pressures, urban cooling strategies are shaped by distinct institutional structures and spatial logics. These findings suggest that urban cooling should be evaluated not only through physical interventions but also within the broader framework of planning culture, local government capacity, and governance structures. Based on the experiences of these two countries, the chapter provides an analytical framework for developing adaptable policy principles for Turkish cities.