Learning Processes

Heat in the City

Six cities – Lüdenscheid and Heidelberg (Germany), Aswan (Egypt), Nairobi and Mombasa (Kenya), and Lviv (Ukraine) – are collaborating from mid-2023 to 2025 as part of the "Heat in the City" learning process. They are analyzing the effects of heatwaves and urban heat islands in their cities and developing tailored solutions for their local contexts. The goal is to promote urban adaptation to the challenges of climate change. At a third in-person workshop in Heidelberg from 3 to 6 June 2024 they expanded on their pilot projects and drafted action plans for implementing the projects.

International municipal cooperation to mitigate heat in cities

On 12 June 2025, the working group of the Deep Dive “Heat in the City” gathered online to wrap up their two years long collaboration on the topic of heat islands in the cities. Each city presented their pilot projects in depth to an audience of experts from Germany and the Global South.

Municipal Peer learning & transfer of knowledge for locally-adapted urban solutions

Medium-term cooperation for an in-depth exchange of experience and concrete planning processes – a Deep Dive Guide

Sustainable mobility – Combining future-proof mobility forms

In a world increasingly affected by climate change and resource scarcity, a corresponding transport revolution is becoming increasingly important. The goal is to reduce emissions and energy consumption while improving quality of life for users, by combining various forms of sustainable mobility. These include electric vehicles, car sharing, bicycles, public transport and walking. The Connective Cities dialogue event, which took place from 25 to 27 November 2025 in Bonn, marked the beginning of a new learning process.

Reuse Instead of Demolition: 2nd Hands on Public Buildings

From September 2024 to September 2025, more than 30 experts from six countries worked as part of Connective Cities‘ learning process ‘2nd Hands on Public Buildings. Repurposing Modernist Public Buildings from the 1960s and 1970s ’ on solutions for aging public buildings from the 1960s and 1970s. How can they be sustainably reused or repurposed instead of being demolished? At four events and two working meetings between September 2024 and September 2025, they learned about current trends in this area, deepened their knowledge, heard details about possible solutions from external experts, and inspired each other with their respective experiences, approaches, and ideas.

Strengthening the voice of cities and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs

On a voluntary basis, more and more municipalities are reporting on the implementation status of the 2030 Agenda‘s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level in so-called Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) or Voluntary Sub-National Reviews (VSR) at the regional level. However, in many countries, there is more talk about local governments at the national level than with them when it comes to developing national sustainability strategies. Yet it is at the local level that over 65% of the SDGs are implemented (or not). From December 2024 to September 2025, Connective Cities therefore ran a learning process on sustainable reporting at the local and regional levels.

Accommodation for evacuees and the use of volunteers

What happens when evacuees are unable to return to their homes for weeks or months? In many places, there are no plans in place for such situations. The city of Cologne wondered how other municipalities around the world deal with this problem. Connective Cities took up this question and organised an international learning process on disaster management from March 2023 to March 2024, focusing on the accommodation of evacuees and the involvement of volunteers.

Climate-positive construction with circular materials

In Potsdam, the focus in 2023 was on climate-friendly construction using bio-based and recyclable materials. Demand for housing is growing worldwide, especially in cities. This makes the construction industry an important sector in every economy. However, the extraction and processing of raw materials for the construction industry contribute significantly to environmental degradation and CO2 emissions. Bio-based materials such as wood or bamboo can play a central role in the decarbonisation of the construction sector.

Water-sensitive urban planning – How can heavy rain and storm water be better managed?

Heavy rain and storm water events can cause streams to swell into raging torrents, destroying houses and vital infrastructure and causing billions in damage and loss of life. In December 2022, 41 experts from 16 cities and eight countries accepted a joint invitation from Conective Cities, Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln (StEB Köln) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to attend this dialogue event. Twelve practical examples from five countries formed the starting point for an in-depth collegial discussion on approaches to minimising the risks of heavy rainfall and storm water events for people and municipal infrastructure.

Flood Risk Management for Risk-Informed Urban Development

As part of the learning process "Flood Risk Management for Risk-Informed Urban Development," 52 professionals from 26 cities in the SSA region collaborated to develop innovative solutions for risk management in urban systems. In cooperation with the Cologne City Drainage Department and the city of Cologne, the focus was on strengthening risk-conscious urban development and promoting a systemic, multi-hazard approach to disaster risk management.

The learning process was implemented in collaboration with the "Resilience Initiative Africa" project.

Measures for Cooler Cities

As part of the "Action for Cool Cities" learning process, municipalities participated in various modules to develop solutions for climate-friendly urban design. The first step was a virtual kickoff event where good practices for reducing CO2 emissions and improving outdoor comfort were presented. In a subsequent workshop in Amman, participants developed ideas and prototypes for creating climate-friendly public spaces, improving communication between urban departments, and optimizing building regulations.

The municipalities developed actionable concepts and tested them in an iteractive process.

Renewable Energy Options at the Municipal Level

The learning process on "Renewable Energy Options at the Municipal Level" in Southeastern Europe, which started in October 2023 in Tbilisi, continued in June 2024 with a workshop in Sarajevo. 19 municipalities from seven countries engaged in intensive peer-to-peer exchanges to refine their projects.

Through workshops and feedback sessions, concrete, actionable solutions were developed, including sustainable financing concepts and energy-efficient technologies for public buildings. The process will continue until March 2025.