How can municipalities translate strategies and local development plans into effective public services? This question lies at the heart of the Connective Cities Lab “From Challenge to Practice: How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services”, organised in cooperation with the Association of German Cities.
Municipalities around the world face similar challenges when implementing local development plans. In this Lab, municipal representatives from different regions will share practical experiences: What obstacles had to be overcome? Which approaches proved successful? And what lessons can be adapted to other local contexts?
Following a series of short case presentations, participants will engage in a moderated peer-to-peer exchange to discuss challenges and jointly explore practical solutions for effective local public service delivery.
Objectives of the Lab
Exchange experiences on challenges related to local public service delivery
Share practical and transferable implementation approaches
Promote international networking and peer learning
We look forward to welcoming municipal practitioners, experts, and partner organisations from around the world.
Participation: The Lab will take place exclusively in person as part of the UCLG World Congress 2026. All participants and speakers must register through the official Congress registration system: https://registration.uclgcongresstangier2026.com/
International Community of Practice for Sustainable Municipal Development
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE NO. 95, June 2026
Dear Readers,
Water is not only a driver of development; it is increasingly becoming a strategic resource. Falling groundwater levels, more frequent and prolonged heatwaves and droughts, as well as heavy rainfall events, are creating major challenges for municipalities around the world. At the same time, relatively modest investments in nature-based and technological solutions can help balance local water systems, protect lives, and prevent far more costly damage to urban infrastructure.
With this in mind, 16 practitioners from six countries have embarked on a two-year Deep Dive on Water Resilience, working together to develop and implement innovative, locally adapted solutions to their specific challenges. Following a three-day in-person meeting in Wuppertal, we take stock of the progress achieved so far.
Can AI-generated visualizations help make housing projects more transparent and accessible for all stakeholders, or do they risk oversimplifying complex planning realities? This question sparked an insightful discussion during a professional conference organized by Connective Cities and the German Association of Cities at the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this issue, we look back at the key insights and debates that emerged from the event.
The Kenyan city of Kisumu offers a practical example of how public spaces can be made more livable: pedestrian-friendly, nature-based, and climate-conscious through the promotion of e-mobility. The initiative serves as an inspiring pilot project and a model for future urban space improvements.
We would also like to draw your attention to several upcoming events.
At the UCLG World Congress 2026 on 25 June in Tangier, Morocco, we will explore how municipalities can successfully translate strategies and development plans into concrete public services. Through practical examples, participants will discuss challenges and solutions related to implementing local sustainability and development strategies.
Sustainability will also be the focus of our next dialogue event, taking place from 20–22 October 2026 in Berlin. The event will examine the implementation of sustainability strategies in the context of major sporting events. Municipal practitioners, particularly those working in event management, sports, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), are warmly invited to participate.
We hope you enjoy this issue and find inspiration in the experiences and ideas shared within it. We look forward to welcoming you to our upcoming events.
Yours sincerely,
The Connective Cities Team
REVIEW
Connective Cities at the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku
AI-Powered Visualisation for Affordable Housing and the Upgrading of Informal Settlements
At the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF) in Baku, the German Association of Cities, in collaboration with Connective Cities, organised an interactive academy session on how AI-powered visual tools can help local urban planners discuss housing challenges, the upgrading of informal settlements and neighbourhood development in a more concrete and accessible way. On the one hand, the AI visualisations proved very useful for making decision-making transparent, particularly in dialogue with the public. At the same time, however, they also carry the risk of oversimplifying complex planning realities or suggesting solutions before key issues have been clarified. This tension gave rise to an insightful discussion, which could well continue beyond WUF13.
The Pedestrian-friendly Redevelopment of a Commercial District
Making Kisumu a better place to live: In the city centre, the three main roads – Oginga Odinga, Ang’awa Avenue and Jomo Kenyatta Avenue – form a triangle around a sports and park area. These roads are used by over 2,200 pedestrians every day. The redesign of the so-called ‘Walkable Triangle’ into a more pedestrian-friendly space has made it safer, more pleasant and more accessible, whilst preserving and integrating the existing tree population. Furthermore, the city is promoting e-mobility in public transport through the introduction of a battery-swapping system for motorbike taxis, known as ‘boda-bodas’, and three-wheeled taxis, known as ‘tuk-tuks’.
Water Resilience – Municipalities Prepare for Drought and Heavy Rainfall
Documentation of the Connective Cities Deep Dive event held from 5 to 7 May 2026 in Wuppertal
Examining their own challenges in water resilience, learning from experiences on other continents, and finding the courage to put innovative ideas into practice – these were the key elements of the first in-person meeting as part of the Connective Cities Deep Dive, held in Wuppertal from 5 to 7 May 2026.
In early 2026, a total of 16 experts from the German municipalities of Dresden, Wunstorf and Wuppertal, as well as from Akkaraipattu (Sri Lanka), Homa Bay (Kenya), Hyderabad (India), Natitingou (Benin) and Niš (Serbia), have started a two-year long working together to analyse innovative approaches and how they might be implemented. On this basis, they are developing and implementing locally adapted solutions to their respective challenges. The meeting in Wuppertal is a first interim step.
From Challenge to Practice – How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services
Local4Action Track – Lab as part of the UCLG World Congress 2026 in Tanger, Morocco
How do municipalities succeed in translating strategies and development plans into concrete public services? The Connective Cities Lab, organised in collaboration with the German Association of Cities, will address this question as part of the UCLG World Congress 2026. Municipalities worldwide face similar challenges when it comes to implementing local development plans. In the Lab, international municipalities will share concrete practical experiences: What obstacles had to be overcome? Which approaches have proven successful? And what can be applied to other contexts?
Call for Participation – Global Green Sports: Implementing Sustainability Strategies for Major Sports Events
Invitation for Municipal Experts to the Dialogue Event in Berlin, 20–22 October 2026
How can sustainability strategies for major sporting events be embedded in policy? How are these strategies implemented within city administrations and event management? How can the public be engaged and informed about sustainable development during major sporting events? Organised by Connective Cities in collaboration with the Education for Sustainable Development Unit and the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport (SIUS), the event invites cities from around the world to exchange experiences, showcase best practices and jointly develop innovative solutions for sustainable sporting events.
Engagement Global gGmbH
Service Agency Communities in One World
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 40, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland
Contact: Sibylle Loyeau
Email: sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32 + 36, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland
Contact: Ricarda Meissner
Email: ricarda.meissner@giz.de
How can AI-generated images help municipalities discuss affordable housing and informal settlement upgrading – without losing sight of implementation challenges?
At the World Urban Forum 13 (WUF13) in Baku, Connective Cities will contribute to the official WUF Academy programme with an interactive event on AI-based visualisation for affordable housing and informal settlement upgrading. The event will take place on 21 May 2026, from 09:30 to 11:30 Baku time (UTC+4).
Organised by the German Association of Cities in cooperation with Connective Cities and the participating municipalities, the event brings together urban practitioners from different regions to work with real urban cases and explore how digital visualisation can support dialogue, participation and peer learning.
About the event
The format builds on the recent Connective Cities working group exchange on affordable housing, including an AI-based visualisation exercise under the umbrella of the New European Bauhaus.
At its core is a practical city exchange: participating municipalities and institutions provide images of selected housing areas, informal settlements and urban transformation sites. WUF participants will work in groups with these prepared cases and use AI-generated visual scenarios as analytical and dialogue-oriented tools — not as final planning products or implementation promises.
The focus is not on the technology itself, but on the urban development questions that the images make visible. How are housing needs, affordability, density, land use, public space, infrastructure and social inclusion negotiated in different contexts? How can visual scenarios support communication between city administrations, communities, technical experts and decision-makers?
The event will also address the limits and risks of AI-supported visualisation. In the context of affordable housing and informal settlement upgrading, attractive images alone are not enough. They need to be linked to questions of financing, operation, maintenance, climate resilience, land ownership, social safeguards and clear implementation responsibilities.
The format was developed and coordinated by Jelena Karamatijevic, Connective Cities, as part of the Connective Cities peer-learning approach.
The event will be moderated by Prof. Hilmar von Lojewski, Association of German Cities. The practical AI exercise will be facilitated by Damiano Cerrone, co-founder of CoPlan AI.
In addition, the GIZ Sustainable Urban Development Programme in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, represented by Ruvi Suárez, will contribute a short methodological reflection on AI-supported scenario thinking and impact assessment.
City exercise examples
Selected examples from the city exercises show how real urban situations can be translated into AI-supported visual scenarios for discussion, reflection and peer learning.
The Academy event will include practical city examples from:
Nairobi City County / Kenya – Godfrey Ngugi, Director of Urban Renewal
Huye District / Rwanda – Richard Ndicunguye, Senior Advisor / Adaptation and Green Cities
Mariental Municipality / Namibia – Sunday Haimbodi, Building Inspector
Urban Development Fund, Egypt / Cairo – Dr. Marwa Ahmed, General Manager, International Cooperation and Community Participation Department
Hebron Municipality / Palestine – Husam Shweiki, Head of the Architecture Department
Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing / Germany – Lars Loebner
The second Africa Urban Forum (AUF), organized under the African Union framework with the support from UN-Habitat and UNECA, took place from 8 to10 April 2026 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. AUF welcomed a diversity of participants, among them politicians, private sector, civil society, development partners and interested members of the public as well, to discuss the conferences’ topic: ‘Adequate Housing for All: Advancing Socio-economic and Environmental Transformation towards the Realization of Agenda 2063’.
At AUF, Connective cities alongside GIZ partner projects Covenant of Mayors Sub Sahara Africa (CoMSSA) and Resilience Initiatve Africa (RIA) organized and facilitated a side event on 9 April, titled Climate proofing the built environment: Integrated Technical Support for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure.
The events’ panel-discussion included international experts, development finance institutions, and local administrations. Thereby, participants could gain insights from local government representatives from Embu, Kenya, and eThekwini, South Africa on how to combine collaborative governance with technical expertise for climate resilient infrastructure. In this regard, the launch of the Embu Final Prefeasibility Technical Assistance Report on Solid Waste Management Infrastructure illustrated the need for comprehensive data gathering prior to project implementation.
Next to the case studies, panelists discussed institutional arrangements and policy approaches related to financing sustainable urban infrastructure. For example, a representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development emphasized that cities must leverage on digitalization of revenue collection to meet ever-rising financial demands and also demonstrate to potential financiers built-in capacity to collect, allocate, and use financial means effectively.
Furthermore, a program manager from the European Investment Bank noted that for development projects to be implemented efficiently, the national and sub-national levels of government must enter into collaborative modes of governance, whereby they complement each other in sourcing funds from potential financiers. The program manager further advocated for a non-fragmented approach towards infrastructure development to avoid wastage and duplication of effort and resources.
In sum, the AUF side-event, by bringing together financial institutions and local government leaders, provided valuable insights into how to comprehensively think sustainable urban development as a basis to successfully build climate-resilient infrastructure in African cities and beyond.
Migration policy may be a national matter – however, its success or failure is also determined at the local level. Convinced by this, around 50 local government professionals came together for a virtual Insight Session organised by Connective Cities. The focus was on the question of what role municipalities can play in the immigration of skilled workers and in supporting migrant entrepreneurship.
In addition to a study by the German Institute for Employment Research IAB, practical examples from the German Pinneberg District, Mersin (Türkiye) and Oberhausen (Germany), Munich (Germany) and Gharb Irbid (Jordan) formed the basis of in-depth working group discussions. These clearly demonstrated that local governments can play a crucial role in realising the economic potential of migration at the local level.
Connective Cities invites municipal and regional authorities from Sub-Saharan Africa and Germany to participate in a new international Learning Process on Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).
Local and regional governments are increasingly at the forefront of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. Intensifying floods, droughts, heatwaves, and land sealing are placing growing pressure on urban systems and governance capacities. Against this backdrop, Nature-Based Solutions offer a cost-effective, multi-benefit pathway to strengthen climate adaptation while also delivering mitigation co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, stormwater management, and urban heating and cooling regulation.
About the Learning Process
The one-year Learning Process will convene municipal practitioners, technical experts, and policymakers through three in-person workshops and continuous virtual collaboration. Participants will progress from problem identification to solution co-development and implementation readiness, supported by peer learning, technical input, and targeted coaching.
The process aims to:
Strengthen municipal and regional capacities to plan and implement NbS
Facilitate structured peer-to-peer learning between Sub-Saharan African and German authorities
Co-create actionable NbS project concepts ready for piloting, financing, or integration into planning frameworks
Generate knowledge products to support replication and scaling across city networks
Thematic Focus Areas
Participants will collaborate within demand-driven thematic working groups, including:
On April 7, 2026, the new Connective Cities learning process on “Green Corridors in the city and its surroundings” was officially launched. The event was organised by Connective Cities in cooperation with the GIZ project Capacity Building through Urban Infrastructure Development (CBUID II) and was offered simultaneously in Arabic, French and English
The workshop was attended by around 70 representatives from eight countries: Algeria, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Municipalities and partner institutions from the MENA region as well as the German city of Erlangen were represented. In addition to the official participants of the learning process, an extended circle of municipal representatives was further involved in the virtual exchange.
The kick-off served as technical and methodological introduction to the learning process. The aim was to set initial thematic priorities, to make municipal challenges visible and to create a common basis for further cooperation. At the same time, the event served to prepare the next steps in the process, in particular the in-depth phase and the planned face-to-face conference in Egypt.
AI-supported Visualization as Innovative Tool for Urban Planning
A central element of the kick-off was the joint AI visualization exercise on green corridors and green neighborhoods, implemented via the CoPlan AI platform. Based on images from urban contexts in the participating cities, spatial development future scenarios for climate-resilient, greener and more usable urban spaces were developed.
Around 550 images were produced as part of the exercise. The visualisation served not only to illustrate spatial changes, but also as a methodological tool to stimulate discussion about the feasibility of green corridors. In this sense, the exercise proved to be a suitable introduction for bringing together perspectives from administration, planning and local government practice.
Key Workshop Findings
The kick-off showed that green corridors and green neighborhoods in the participating cities are envisioned predominantly in urban districts and less in the cities’ surroundings. The focus is accordingly not on planning in undeveloped areas, but on the gradual further development of existing urban spaces in which housing, mobility, public use and social functions are already closely intertwined.
In that sense, it also became clear that green corridors have to fulfil several functions at the same time. They contribute to climate adaptation, for example through shading, cooling, better air circulation and water absorption. But they also contribute to the upgrading of public spaces by improving the quality of life and encounters within the city. Especially in dense neighborhoods, green corridors must therefore always be considered as social spaces of mobility and connection.
Another central aspect was the importance of participation and local acceptance. Since identified spaces are usually already intensively used, the involvement of the population is an essential prerequisite for successful implementation. This applies to the usability for distinct groups such as children, families and residents as well as the question of how green measures can be integrated into the everyday urban life.
Contribution from the Urban Development Fund (UDF)
The Urban Development Fund (UDF) underlined the importance of institutional approaches for integrated and climate-resilient urban development in Egypt. The examples presented showed how strategic urban development, upgrading of existing districts, heat reduction and public space can be more closely linked. The UDF thus not only contributed concrete experience from Egyptian practice, but also an important perspective on scaling, institutional anchoring and long-term implementation capability.
Contribution of the City of Erlangen
The city of Erlangen’s contribution illustrated that green corridors must be implemented in conjunction with traffic, accessibility and conflicts over the use of urban space. In their presentation of the local project ‘From two quarters to one campus’, Erlangen representatives demonstrated how a green boulevard, tram, bicycle, pedestrian and motorised traffic, and an existing pedestrian bridge could be brought together within one coherent planning task. Thus, the contribution from Erlangen provided important impetus for an integrated planning approach to green corridors.
Example Cities and Good Practices
During the kick-off, several municipal and institutional examples were presented that are of particular relevance for the further learning process:
Erlangen (Germany): integrated planning approach to green corridors in existing urban space, with a focus on Green Boulevard, multimodal mobility, land use and conflicts of use.
Aswan (Egypt): Development of the Heat Action Plan for El-Sail Elgadid, including cooling stations, shaded recreation areas and specific offers for children and women.
Port Said (Egypt): Approaches to climate-adapted urban development and the upgrading of urban spaces under the specific climatic conditions of a Mediterranean city.
Telal Al-Fustat Park, Cairo (Egypt): large-scale greening approach in historic Cairo with positive effects on cooling, air quality and biodiversity.
Reviving Historical Cairo (Egypt): Upgrading historic urban areas as a combination of urban renewal, public space and historical identity.
Al-Asmarat (Egypt): Participatory upgrading of public spaces in the residential environment as an example of the linking of green and social functions in existing neighbourhoods.
Outlook
Some of the participants at the launch event
The digital kick-off has created a reliable technical basis for the next steps of the MENA learning process. It became clear that the added value of the format lies particularly in synergy effects betweenconcrete municipal examples, institutional perspectives, inter-municipal exchange and visual methods. In the coming phases, the identified topics will be further deepened, approaches between the cities will be further developed and jointly concretized during both online and face-to-face exchanges.
24 March 2026 was the big day! The in-depth learning process “Water Resilience: Strengthening Municipalities against Drought and Heavy Rainfall Events” kicked off shortly after the World Water Day. Droughts, heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding are on the rise, putting a strain on infrastructure, public health and municipal budgets. At the same time, urbanisation is intensifying competition for water.
Many major cities are already experiencing severe water stress, and the global demand for water could significantly exceed the available supply by 2030.
Water scarcity has long been an obstacle to development for countries in the Global South, but in the future, all regions worldwide will have to adapt to fluctuating water availability and growing conflicts over its use. Water is set to become the defining strategic resource of the 21st century.
Key solutions are emerging at a local level. Although the broader circumstances vary greatly, local authorities face similar structural challenges, making exchange and collaborative learning particularly valuable.
As part of our ‘Deep Dive’ on the topic of ‘Water-Resilient Municipalities’, we are bringing together experts from eight municipalities in Benin, Germany, Kenya, India, Serbia and Sri Lanka. Over a two-year period, they will discuss innovative approaches, such as sponge city concepts, blue corridors and integrated blue-green-red infrastructure, and develop and implement locally tailored solutions to their respective challenges.
During the initial virtual meeting, the municipalities presented their local challenges, identified initial similarities, and prepared for the first in-person working meeting in Wuppertal in early May. Further updates from our ‘Deep Dive’ project will follow from May 2026.
The participating cities are: Natitingou (Benin), Dresden, Wunstorf and Wuppertal (Germany), Homa Bay (Kenya), Hyderabad (India), Niš (Serbia) and Akkaraipattu (Sri Lanka).
Kick-off Event: 7th – 9th April 2026 (TBC) in Egypt
Local authorities in Germany, North Africa, and the Middle East face similar challenges in the face of climate change. They are called upon to translate general strategies for climate change adaptation and climate protection into concrete local measures. One option is to develop green corridors – e.g., as green walkways in city centers or as green corridors in the surrounding areas and new neighborhoods. These enable improved fresh air supply, quality of life, and more efficient water management. Green corridors can also be used for local recreation and heat protection in municipalities.
Against this backdrop, Connective Cities offers experts from local governments in Gemany, North Africa and Middle East the opportunity to develop concrete solutions for their own contexts and exchange ideas with each other as part of a one-year learning process.
Main areas of Work
The structured learning process will focus on:
Green corridors as fresh air corridors between cities and their surrounding areas
Green paths in cities and old city centers
Green new and existing neighborhoods
The methodology
The learning process follows a modular approach with the following objectives:
Supporting participating municipalities in developing solutions through peer learning and tailored technical advice to promote green corridor solutions.
Developing the participants’ skills so that they are better able to implement organizational changes and improve procedures and methods in their own municipalities.
Supporting participating municipalities in their methodological approach and the development of financially viable solutions.
As part of the learning process, best practices for green corridors and climate-friendly urban planning will be presented. Participating municipalities will engage in peer learning with others to develop concrete solutions for their individual contexts. These solutions can bring about organizational changes to improve procedures, methods, and data availability, as well as the concrete implementation of pilot measures.
Using a co-creative approach, participants will be involved in a structured creative problem-solving process. This includes
observing and understanding current municipal practices to identify challenges and gaps,
brainstorming and developing concrete solutions, and
testing the solutions with a group of stakeholders, including citizens and experts, to obtain feedback.
Duration
The learning process will span a period of one year, beginning with a kick-off workshop in Egypt in April 2026. A total of two German and approximately 10 municipalities from the MENA region will participate in the learning process.
Participation and contact
We are looking for experts from local governments in Gemany, North Africa and Middle East (district offices, city administrations, municipal companies, etc.) who can contribute a project or idea for a solution for green corridors to the learning process. Ideally, two experts from one municipality will apply and be able to anchor the change process in the administration in the long term. The participation costs (accommodation and board) are covered. The conference language is English and French.
Connective Cities Newsletter – Issue No. 91, January 2026
International Community of Practice for Sustainable Municipal Development
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE NO. 91, January 2026
Dear readers,
'If you stand with both feet firmly on the ground you won’t be able to move forward.'
That is why, in this issue, we would like to inspire you to embark on a slightly visionary journey – without fully leaving the ground of practice. We present innovative project ideas and sustainable approaches that were developed in our exchange formats together with municipal experts. Above all, we would like to invite you to participate in the learning processes we are planning for this year.
Our Insight Session “AI for Municipalities” with examples from Jakarta and Hamburg received strong resonance. Our one-year learning process “2nd Hands on Public Buildings” also impressively demonstrated the potential of the paradigm shift: away from rapid demolition and toward sustainable reuse and conversion of buildings.
Last year ended with our annual network meeting, where we not only looked back on what we had achieved, but also introduced new topic suggestions for 2026.
A new one-year learning process on the topic of “Sustainable Mobility – Interaction of Future-Proof Forms of Mobility” has already been launched with 20 municipalities from eleven countries and has highlighted many transferable approaches and projects.
More will follow shortly: In the regional learning process in Sub-Saharan Africa entitled “Nature at the heart of municipal resilience,” we invite you to further develop nature-based solutions to combat the effects of climate change. In addition, there is the opportunity to participate in the regional learning process in Southeast Europe/Caucasus on the topic of “Protecting critical infrastructure through risk-informed development.”
Together we can move forward! Your Connective Cities Team
REVIEW
Connective Cities Network Meeting 2025
Get-together of active German stakeholders on 9 and 10 December 2025 sets the course for the new year
Getting updated, sharing insights into the topics that are relevant on the local level, and fostering exchange—that is what the annual Connective Cities network meeting for active German stakeholders is all about. This year, around 30 participants made their way to Bonn to discuss achievements and visions for the future.
Virtual Ad-Hoc-Session on 2 December 2025 including good practices from Jakarta and Hamburg points out the opportunities and challenges
Improving citizen services, speeding up routine tasks, and freeing up human resources for other tasks – this is what local authorities hope to achieve with artificial intelligence in administration. The topic is an important one and interest was high: The event recorded over 100 registrations, with nearly 60 participants joining online – from cities such as Lusaka (Zambia), Stuttgart, Mombasa (Kenya), Berlin, and Iserlohn. Concrete examples were used to demonstrate how AI can perform simple tasks and reduce the administrative burden. However, data protection and ethical issues must not be disregarded.
Reuse Instead of Demolition: 2nd Hands on Public Buildings
The learning process ‘Reuse of modern public buildings from the 1960s and 1970s’
For over a year, 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. They deepened their knowledge, learned about potential solutions from external experts and shared their experiences, approaches and ideas to inspire each other. The innovative projects demonstrate the impressive potential of the paradigm shift away from rapid demolition and towards well-considered reuse and conversion.
Sustainable mobility – Combining future-proof mobility forms
Connective Cities dialogue event and the start of a new learning process
38 experts from 20 municipalities in 11 countries accepted Connective Cities‘ invitation to Bonn, where they discussed their innovative project approaches with colleagues and collaborated on new implementation ideas. Represented were small municipalities such as Lahntal with around 7,200 inhabitants, rural districts, and metropolises with millions of inhabitants, such as Rio de Janeiro and Munich. The innovative approaches were equally diverse. The international exchange of experiences provides motivation at a time when sustainability issues are under increasing political pressure. The challenges are surprisingly similar, and solutions are often transferable.
Invitation to the learning process on Nature-based Solutions
Intensifying floods, droughts, heatwaves, and land sealing are placing growing pressure on urban systems and governance capacities. Against this backdrop, Nature-Based Solutions offer a cost-effective, multi-benefit pathway to strengthen climate adaptation while also delivering mitigation co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, stormwater management, and urban heating and cooling regulation.The one-year Learning Process will convene municipal practitioners, technical experts, and policymakers through three in-person workshops and continuous virtual collaboration. The application deadline is 7 February 2026. Become part of the process!
Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure through Risk-Informed Urban Development
Call for participation in the learning process on planning for urban resilience in Southeastern Europe/South Caucasus
Climate-related extreme events, technical disruptions, growing inter-dependencies between infrastructure systems and new security challenges threaten the functioning of urban areas. Protecting critical infrastructure – energy, water, transport, communication and health – has therefore become a central task of modern local governance. The focus lies on integrated planning, multi-risk governance and the development of implementable project approaches to protect and strengthen critical infrastructure. The application deadline is 28 February 2026. Become part of the process!
Engagement Global gGmbH Service Agency Communities in One World Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 40, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland Kontakt: Sibylle Loyeau Email: sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32 + 36, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland Kontakt: Ricarda Meissner Email: ricarda.meissner@giz.de
