Category: Documentation

Building Resilience: Insights from the Project Planning Workshop

Posted on by erik

The Connective Cities Project Planning Workshop, themed “Resilience in Times of War – Municipal Exchange between Ukraine and Germany,” unfolded in Munich, Germany, from November 28th to 29th, 2023. This gathering brought together municipal representatives and technical experts with a collective goal – to strengthen a more resilient and sustainable future for Ukraine. The workshop, occurring just a month after the 6th German-Ukrainian Partnership Conference in Leipzig, aimed to emphasize the pivotal role of cities and municipalities in shaping the nation’s post-war trajectory.
 

Diverse Participation and Collaborative Learning

Representatives from diverse Ukrainian municipalities, such as Sambir, Sumy, Brovary, Lutsk, Vinnitsa, Trostyanets, Berenzhany, Zbarazh, Mykolaiv, Melitopol, and Novovolynsk, comprised the active participation of over 35 delegates in the Connective Cities event. Kosovo had representation from Prishtina and Gllogoc, and Germany was represented by Munich and Eichenau. The event also featured participation from municipal utilities Gersthofen & Cologne (RheinEnergie) and delegates from the private sector. The diverse mix aimed at fostering collaborative learning, as cities shared their successes and challenges, recognizing the importance of joint experiences in the journey towards resilience.

Thematic Focus Areas

The workshop delved into three crucial thematic areas:

  1. Regional and Local Economic Development
  2. Renewable Energy Options on the Municipal Level
  3. Integrated Urban Development

Skilled technical experts facilitated discussions on topics ranging from green urban development to energy grid optimization and cluster development, providing valuable insights for participants to implement in their respective municipalities.

Rebuilding, but better!

Posted on by erik

From the German participants, the urban planning offices of the cities of Münster and Munich presented current examples of integrated urban development. It became clear that “integrated” encompasses all levels, from spatial planning to the participatory design of a square. To link these levels, Munich relies on the development of specialist guidelines (climate change adaptation/sponge city, avoidance of heat islands, mobility, strong residential districts) and the definition of action areas. Münster relies above all on the instrument of center funds (smaller sums to promote new ideas for redesign, simple application) and, upgrading the city center as a leisure and recreation area.

Climate-friendly construction with organic and recycled materials

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Steel and concrete are the most widely-used construction materials around the world, but producing and using them in construction produces high levels of carbon emissions. So how can we build the cities of the future in a more climate-friendly way? In this, using organic materials or recycling and reusing materials are promising approaches. This was the outcome of an international event held by Connective Cities in Potsdam from 13 to 15 November 2023 in partnership with the City of Potsdam as State Capital of Brandenburg, Bauhaus Erde and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Renewable Energy Options on the Municipal Level

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Discover the highlights of the Connective Cities Dialogue Event held from 10 – 12 October 2023, focusing on ‘Renewable Energy Options at the Municipal Level.’ In this insightful gathering in Tbilisi, Georgia, 35 urban practitioners from 19 municipalities across 8 countries convened to exchange experiences. Representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine collaborated, sharing valuable insights and collectively crafting innovative solutions for sustainable energy practices at the municipal level. Dive into the dynamic discussions and collaborative efforts that unfolded during this event, driving positive change in the realm of renewable energy within diverse urban settings.

Watch video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/uc1SMXGdHvs

Gender mainstreaming and inclusive governance in municipalities

Posted on by erik

Gender equality has emerged as a critical driver of social progress and inclusive governance, in which municipalities play a crucial planning and implementation role. To strengthen the municipal role in gender mainstreaming and inclusive governance, Connective Cities has co-organised a workshop on 8-10 August 2023 in Amman-Jordan for municipal actors and experts to showcase good practices in this field as well as to support the participating municipalities in developing measures to achieve sustainable, inclusive and gender-equitable development in their respective contexts. The collaboration included other programmes: WoMENA, the Municipal Know-how for Host Communities in the Middle East Programme (IKKN) (German-Jordanian-Lebanese) and PAL (German-Palestinian).

Watch video about the workshop at YouTube: https://youtu.be/JHvDIx2e40k

Organised volunteers and spontaneous responders: their special role in disaster management

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During natural disasters or other emergencies, organised volunteers and spontaneous responders help professional rescue workers save lives and minimise impact.

However, in order for their deployment to be successful, professional disaster management must have appropriate structures in place to mobilise and train volunteers and, above all, to coordinate their work. At the same time, the boundaries and responsibilities of volunteers must also be clearly defined, in order to ensure safe and successful interaction with professional responders.

Win-win: municipalities and the academic community benefit from more collaboration

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The report documents the most important results of a virtual networking event with participants from Germany, Jordan, Kenya, Somalia, Indonesia, Tanzania, France, Congo (DRC) and Ukraine on 28 March 2023, with the aim of identifying the potential for cooperation between municipalities and scientific institutions and developing recommendations for action. The event was hosted by the City of Heidelberg in cooperation with Connective Cities.

Closer cooperation between municipalities and academic institutions offers both sides plenty of potential that has often not yet been fully exploited. Scholars can help municipalities find ways to adapt to new challenges – such as the impacts of climate change. It also creates many high-quality jobs. At the same time, academic institutions depend on the cities in which they are located to provide good research and working conditions, and an attractive environment for their employees to live in.

Strengthening the resilience and capacity to rebuild cities and critical municipal infrastructure in times of war

Posted on by erik

On 31 January 2023, the digital kick-off event of the working group “Resilience in times of war” took place. Under the theme “Strengthening resilience and capacity to rebuild cities and critical municipal infrastructure in times of war”, the event enabled an exchange between a total of 62 municipal representatives from Ukraine and Germany on good practices, common challenges and possible solutions.

With special regard to municipal cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and housing, Mr. Günter Burger, personal department of the Lord Mayor of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, gave a technical input. Together with its partner city Lviv, the city of Freiburg is planning a model building for housing internally displaced persons and people who have lost their living space in the city. After an initial test phase in Lviv, the housing units should also be able to be used in a modular fashion in other cities. In the future, the materials, mainly wood, will be produced in Ukraine to create not only housing but also jobs. Construction of the up to three-storey wooden buildings is scheduled to begin in March of this year – with subsequent testing of implementation in other areas. So-called power blocks, which have already been delivered from Freiburg to Lviv in recent months, could be used for the power supply to improve energy security in general.

Ideas to emulate – Sustainable urban development planning in Germany

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Since 2019, the team from the Urban Planning Department of Greater Amman Municipality in Jordan has been taking part in an international dialogue process on sustainable urban planning, facilitated by Connective Cities. This has involved sharing ideas with other urban planners from around the world, and obtaining external expertise from the network for the planning of a new neighbourhood. In August 2022, an 11-member delegation travelled to Germany to conclude this process. The delegation collected numerous ideas on how to improve urban planning in Amman. Their itinerary included stops in Münster, Dortmund, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main.

The team from the Urban Planning Department was particularly interested in tips and lessons learned when drafting the German building code. This was because they were in the process of drafting such national regulations themselves. Their code, which is intended to give all parties involved – from landowners to the municipal planning departments – more legal certainty in urban and spatial planning. The Jordanian Parliament is expected to vote on the draft in 2023.

As early as 2021, the team, together with German experts, had analysed the relevant Jordanian and German legislation. They also discussed various recommendations, including how local government can simplify dealings with landowners.

This report documents the study tour in four stops and the insights gained from the perspective of the Jordanian delegation.

Learning experiences with construction waste management in crisis areas

Posted on by erik

During the virtual event “Learning experiences with construction waste management in crisis areas” on November 10th 2022, an intensive exchange took place between 30 experts from 12 municipalities (mainly from Ukraine and Germany). The event was a reaction to the high demand and relevance of the topic due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. To ensure basic services on the ground, municipalities have to clear away the debris caused by the shelling of infrastructure and buildings. However, this work is highly resource-intensive while those resources are not always available in areas of crisis. The aim of the event was thus to share experiences from other conflict areas about how construction waste disposal can be managed as effectively as possible and also reused for future reconstruction.