Ever new heat records in all parts of the world show how climate change is affecting our lives. Cities in particular suffer from the phenomenon that on hot days it hardly cools down at night. The result is that the air heats up again more quickly the next day. This creates a heat island that is not only uncomfortable for city dwellers, but can also lead to illness and death from heat stress for people with low physical resilience.

Heat islands occur primarily in areas that are densely built-up and lack green spaces. They are additionally intensified by pollutant emissions or heat generation in the city. The size and expansion of the city also has a proportional effect on the formation of heat islands.

In the online event on heat islands, Connective Cities would like to discuss what measures need to be taken in extreme heat and how cities can prevent the formation of heat islands. For this purpose, input from the scientific perspective, as well as good practice examples from the city of Dortmund, Germany and Kisumu, Kenya will be presented.

The event will be introduced by Alice Balbo, Policy Advisor at the German Association of Cities for Climate Impact Adaptation, Resilience and Sustainability, Rescue Services, Fire and Civil Protection.

Subsequently, Prof. Dr.  Shady Attia,  University Professor of Sustainable Architecture at the University of Liège in Belgium, presented  the current state of  science on "Urban heat mitigation and adaptation strategies against climate change effects". Prof. Dr. Attia is an expert in urban climate and urban performance simulation in the face of climate change. He has advanced the field of urban climate science through applied and solution-oriented research and brings extensive international experience to the table.

The speakers Sophie Arens and Michael Leischner from Dortmund, Germany present the Master Plan Integrated Climate Adaptation Dortmund - MIKADO. MIKADO provides a planning basis in the field of climate adaptation for new urban development measures. In addition, the city is currently developing a heat action plan to provide clear guidance for action in extreme heat.

Finally, Mr. James Opondo Nyagol, Climate Change Officer of the Kisumu County Government (Kenya) will present the steps the city of Kisumu has taken to adapt to the increased temperatures in the city and to counteract the heat island effect.

Following the presentations, participants are invited to share experiences from their municipalities in an open discussion and to jointly develop possible solutions.

The working languages of the event are English and Arabic. Interpretation will be provided.

If you would like to attend this event and share your experience, please register via the online registration link on the following website.

https://skew.engagement-global.de/connective-cities-expert-exchange-strategies-for-mitigating-heat-islands.html

(Please note that there may be problems logging in via smartphone at this time. If registration is not possible or you do not receive a registration confirmation, please log in via your computer or contact us. Thank you very much!)

If you have any questions or comments about the event, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sina Webber, sina.webber(at)engagement-global.de,    +49 228 20 717-2658