Category: Cities and climate change

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

Posted on by erik

Heavy rain and storm water events such as those in the Ahr valley in Germany in 2021 or in Pakistan, Australia or South Africa in 2022 cause streams to swell to raging torrents. They flood roads, destroy houses and bridges and important infrastructure. Yet not only do they cause damage worth billions – they also lead to loss of life. They occur suddenly, and can only be predicted at short notice. Due to climate change, these events will continue to increase in frequency and severity worldwide.

41 experts from 16 cities and eight countries accepted the joint invitation of Connective Cities with Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln (StEB Köln) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to this dialogue event in December 2022.

Twelve practical examples from five countries formed the starting point for an intensive peer consultation on which approaches can be used to minimise the risks of heavy rain and storm water events for people and municipal infrastructure. Existing projects were enriched and new project ideas emerged.

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

Posted on by erik

Heavy rain and storm water events, such as those in Germany’s Ahr Valley in 2021 or in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa in 2022, cause streams to swell into raging torrents. They flood roads, destroy houses and bridges, as well as important infrastructure. Yet not only do they cause damage worth billions – they also lead to loss of life. They occur suddenly, and can only be predicted at short notice. Due to climate change, these events will continue to increase in frequency and severity worldwide.

Connective Cities organises opportunities for local government experts in Germany and worldwide to dialogue on relevant and current topics, in order to deepen development cooperation. 41 experts from 16 cities and eight countries accepted the joint invitation of  Connective Cities, Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln (StEB Köln) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to this dialogue event.

Twelve practical examples from five countries formed the starting point for an intensive collegial discussion on which approaches can be used to minimise the risks of heavy rain and storm water events for people and municipal infrastructure. Existing projects were enriched and new project ideas emerged. The documentation provides insights into this consultation process.

Mangrove Forest as a line of defense in Quelimane City, Mozambique

Posted on by erik

The City of Quelimane is vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disasters. As a response measure to events such as cyclones and the high winds, the city has adopted the increase of the mangrove forest as a defence mechanism. This has been achieved through sensitization campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems as a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and use. The communities have also been supplied with the mangroves seedlings and trained on how to plant and nurture them. Successive years of natural coastal erosion and landscape changes for agricultural use, as well as urbanization, have reduced the extent of the mangrove forest in certain areas. This has exposed the coastal communities to the devastating negative effects of climate change, particularly sea level rise.

Quelimane population has most economic activities situated along the coast and is now experiencing, more than ever before, a major threat from the rising sea. Sea level rise, flooding, saline intrusion, land erosion and decreasing biodiversity are phenomena of which occurrences have increased due to the impacts of climate change.

In Quelimane, mangroves are growing along the riverbanks, in estuaries and further inland, as well as along the entire muddy coast. The most commonly known mangrove specie is Avicenia marina. Seeing that the loss of the mangrove negatively affects their standard of living, the community has actively been involved in the mangrove reforestation and, some neighbourhoods close to the mangrove, formed local mangrove management committees that oversee the use of the mangroves. Some committees proposed use of the mangroves for bee keeping which has been a co-benefit to the initial project. The fear of being stung by bees also keeps people away from the mangroves.

Voices from Connective Cities – Al-Maghazi Municipality

Posted on by erik

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:

https://youtu.be/Y7jClLfDFOw

Linear Parks in Campinas, Brazil

Posted on by erik

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:

https://youtu.be/s87ad6O-x88

Action for Cool Cities – Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort.

Posted on by erik

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.

Protecting viticulture and tourism against the impacts of climate change

Posted on by erik

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

Posted on by erik

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.

Voices from Connective Cities – Muncipality of Ras el-Matn

Posted on by erik

The Mayor of Ras el-Matn municipality talks about how the municipality serves as the lungs of the capital Beirut in Lebanon, mainly due to its distigiushed eco-tourism projects. He also describes the municipality’s partnership with the private sector partner ‘Green Mount Recycling -GMR’ for sustainable waste management. The general director of GMR commended Ras el-Matn municiplaity and elaborates on their partnership project to promote sorting from source, particularly on how gender considerations were integrated into the planning and implementation of the project’s activities. Moreover, the Mayor also describes how the municipality developed a geospatial database with Connective Cities to promote waste sorting. Both speakers confirmed how this project will ultimately have environmental benefits and contribute to climate change mitigation. They also confirmed the benefits of joining Connective Cities network and peer learning particularly on the topic of waste management, as they learned about procedures that other companies are following in different countries such as the Philippines and Brazil using PPP.

Watch video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/3uixwUwO9W8

Bending the Linear Economy On Urban Metabolism

Posted on by erik

“In the Rome Declaration of 2021, the G20 Leaders stressed the link between sustainable urbanization and the development of circular economy to preserve resources and deliver on climate and biodiversity global goals. […] To meet ambitious but necessary net zero targets, waste, water and energy provision have to change dramatically and at a large scale. This includes new technologies, transformations in governance and regulatory systems, the implementation of just-transition financial mechanisms and strengthened international cooperation, combined with enhanced technical cooperation and joint capacity building among emerging and developing markets.”

INTERSECTING is distributed by the Global Solutions Initiative. It is geared towards think tanks, civil organizations, international institutions, in particular the G20/T20.