Using a Connective Cities learning process, the municipality of Mitrovica in Kosovo drew up a roadmap to establish an umbrella organisation for the roughly 300 informal waste pickers in the city. This is designed to enable the waste pickers to improve their socio-economic situation and access to health care.
Author: erik
Voices from Connective Cities – Al-Maghazi Municipality
Al-Maghazi in Palestine is a small municipality that is home for many. In this video, the representatives of the municipality describe the municipality’s pursuit to fulfill its developmental role and improve living conditions for the local community despite the various challenges that are amplified by the siege that the Gaza strips suffers from since 14 years . Ms. Amani Ismail values the benefits of peer learning from Connective Cities network members, and has utilised the activities conducted by Connective Cities to develop a proposal for a community garden in Al-Maghazi. She hopes that all municipalities in Gaza district’s join Connective Cities network.
Watch video at YouTube:
Transformative Riverine Management Programme
The Transformative Riverine Management Programme from the municipality of eThewkwini (Durban, South Africa) is an innovative project to integrate adaptive water and climate management and establishes a partnership between the municipality, research institutions, community organisations and citizens. The programme aims to transform the management of over 7,400 km of watercourses and river corridors. The aim is to improve water quality through ecosystem-based adaptations and reduce flood risk through community-level projects, such as paying for collected waste that can lead to drain blockages.
Interview with:
- Mr Geoff Tooley, Coastal Stormwater and Catchment Management Division, Department of Engineering, eThekwini Municipality.
- Mr. Emmanuel K. Letebele, Senior Planner, eThekwini Municipality
Watch video at YouTube:
Mr Emmanuel Letebele was part of the Working Group on Risk-Informed Urban Development (RIUD) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This working group is a joint initiative of GIZ’s Connective Cities programmes and the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management programme. More information on the RIUD working group.
Voices from Connective Cities – Sahab Municipality
Sahab in Jordan is a prize-winning municipality. In this video, the representatives of the municipality (Haneen Hassouneh and Ali Assaf) share with us the municipality’s success stories on sustainable energy provisions and promotion of energy efficiency, digitalisation, good governance and transparency as well gender-consideration in urban development. The municipal representatives emphasized the important role that Connective Cities fulfilled in facilitating capacity transfer, peer learning and development of specialist skills of the networks members.
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Linear Parks in Campinas, Brazil
nterview with Gabriel Dias Mangolini Neves The city of Campinas, like many Brazilian cities, experienced rapid urban growth on the outskirts of the city due to rural exodus since the 1970s, which was largely unplanned in terms of urban planning and ecology. Campinas chose linear parks as a nature-based solution to solve several problems at once: More resilience against heavy rain and heat, more community life through public spaces with sports and leisure facilities. 49 parks are planned, two are already being implemented. Learn more about nature-based solutions in the interview with Gabriel Dias Mangolini Neves, Head and Environmental Engineer at the Secretariat of Green, Environment and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Campinas.
Subtitles in German, English and Portuguese are available.
Watch video at YouTube:
Action for Cool Cities – Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort.
As the first step of the learning process ‘Action for Cool Cities- Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort’, the kickoff event was held on 30 Nov – 1 Dec 2022. During this event, good practices were showcased on the reduction of carbon emissions in building stock and improving outdoor thermal comfort as well as examples of faltering implementation in these key spheres of action. Participating municipalities engaged in peer learning and group discussions to observe and understand contextual considerations shaping municipal practices and projects related to climate action.
Communication is a key factor in the success of local vaccination campaigns
Stuttgart (Germany) and Bogotá (Colombia) used Connective Cities’ online expert dialogue ‘The local implementation of vaccination strategies and related communication in municipalities’ on 22-25 March 2021 to discuss with other municipalities around the world their communication strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. They also used the meeting to find solutions to their local challenges.
Protecting viticulture and tourism against the impacts of climate change
In December 2021, the municipalities of Eltville and Tunuyán met online for a professional dialogue, which was also attended by representatives of scientific institutions from both countries. A total of 30 people took part in the event. The two sides decided to work together in the future within a climate partnership, in order to minimise the negative impacts of climate change on wine production and the tourism industry.
Climate-adapted urban development in Kumasi and Dortmund
Dortmund and the Ghanaian municipality of Kumasi used a dialogue event organised by Connective Cities in September 2019 to reactivate their climate partnership, which began in 2011. They focus on the climate-adapted development of their cities and on the greening of school grounds in Kumasi.
Connective Cities with side event @COP27
Join us on November 12th, 6:30 – 8:00 pm UTC+2, virtually or at the German Pavilion at COP27 – and discuss challenges and solutions to energy supply and energy efficiency in cities.
Cities worldwide face dependence on energy imports and energy supply as well as high prices and price fluctuation due to wars, conflicts, and insecure situations worldwide. The expansion of renewable energies and energy efficiency in urban development are therefore currently gaining further momentum.
How can cities work towards energy autarky? What role can cities play in eliminating energy imports? To what extent can cities and municipalities produce their own energy?
The side-event is organized by Connective Cities and the German Association of Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) and addresses challenges and good practices examples in the fields of:
- Energy supply and energy consumption of different sectors in cities
- Good Practices in reducing energy consumption (e.g., nearly zero energy buildings; renewable energy; clean energy)
Keynote: Mrs. Lea Ranalder, UN-Habitat
Panel discussion:
- Mr. Andreas Wolter, Mayor, City of Cologne, Germany
- Mrs. Melanie Grabowy, Mayor, City of Bonn, Germany
- Mr. Houcine Jrad, Mayor, Municipality Houmt Souk, Tunisia
- Dr. Georges Youssef, Municipality Menjez, Lebanon
- Mme Gladys Wanga, Governor County Government of Homa Bay, Kenia
Moderation: Sabine Drees, German Association of Cities
Virtual participation is possible via: Side Event | Responding Russia´s war: Towards Energy Autarky on a local level (german-climate-pavilion.de)