Category: Cities and climate change

Call for participants: Risk informed urban development

Posted on by erik

Are you an urban representative, employee of a municipality or an urban practitioner from a NGO, university, research unity, or other working directly with cities administrations in a low- or middle-income country? You want to work towards a flood risk informed urban development and would like to apply for the City Climate Finance Gap Fund?

Join our working group and:

  • Get introduced to the City Climate Finance Gap Fund and what it offers
  • Profit from peer-to-peer consultations and jointly work on challenges, project ideas and expressions of interest with your peers
  • Learn from good practice examples of international cities working on risk management
  • Receive individual expert’s advice on your ideas
  • Benefit from a strong cooperation with UNFCCC, UNDRR and the WorldBank
  • Profit from different capacity building measure to improve your skills and understanding of risk informed urban development

European cities have experienced flooding many times in history, however, the scale and numbers of losses of life from the flooding in July 2021 have been devastating. Hitting the long safely imagined temperate zone, the events reveal the importance and urgency of discussing measures to enhance disaster preparedness, strengthen resilience and enhancing preparedness in cities around the globe. The need of cities worldwide to adapt to a changing climate and an increasing number of extreme weather events is more prominent than ever to save lives, reduce economic losses and protect critical infrastructure. The competences and institutional capacities of policy- and decision-makers need to be strengthened to address risks.

Within the working group on risked informed urban development, which will be hosted jointly by the Global Initiative Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM) and Connective Cities, cities will work together towards handing in their expressions of interest for the City Climate Finance Gap Fund by peer-to-peer exchanges, learning from good practice examples and profiting from individual experts’ advice. Specific topics of the project ideas may include public sensitization for disaster management, risk assessment and communication, risk governance, as well as other scopes depending on the participating cities’ needs.

You are interested in becoming part of the joint GIDRM and Connective Cities working group on risk informed urban development? Please consider the following steps:

Join the working group online: Risk informed urban development | Connective Cities Network

Join the first meeting: 12 October 2021, 14:00-15:00 CET

For further requests, do not hesitate to contact Karl-Heinz Gaudry (karl-heinz.gaudrysada@giz.de) or Ricarda Meissner (ricarda.meissner@giz.de).

Cities Challenge: 2030 Agenda meets Urban Climate Action

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What does a climate-friendly, inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable city look like in practice? In 2019, GIZ’s CitiesChallenge 2030 ideas competition set out to showcase and support examples for this all over the world. More than 30 projects replied to the calls for application. GIZ and BMZ selected four winning projects to be Urban Living Labs:

  • In Portoviejo, Ecuador, women in a poor peri-urban settlement acted as guardians to support the vulnerable and the sick, working together with the municipal disaster management department. With the help of students and experts from universities and professional organisations, they managed to secure paths and public spaces from landslides.
  • In Jordan’s capital Amman, an NGO created microforests in high-density, precarious neighbourhoods. This triggered cross-sectoral cooperation between stakeholders, who together tested novel planting methods to improve air quality, combat heat islands and create rainwater storage.
  • In Windhoek, Namibia, slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city created a neighbourhood park that invites people to stay and play while protecting their homes from seasonal flooding. They also planned the future development of their own settlement through a participatory process, supported by the municipality.
  • In the Serbian capital Belgrade, food service operators and digital start-ups in the Serbian capital Belgrade saved food from being destroyed. Instead, they made it available to families in need while improving urban food security and reducing the burden on landfills.

These four Urban Living Labs show some of the many ways that interventions in cities bring local governments, experts, communities and entrepreneurs together. By working together with local partners, they improved the resilience and quality of life for vulnerable groups, ensured access to public services, used resources more sustainably, and promoted climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Tianjin Daqiuzhuang Eco-City: green, ecological and low carbon

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Daqiuzhuang has traditionally been an important industrial site, especially for the steel industry.

The Sino-German Tianjin Daqiuzhuang Eco-City has developed an overarching indicator system with 20 ecological indicators, 50 percent of which are from the areas of energy saving and emission reduction. Modern concepts and technologies from Germany serve as a reference and the Energy and Climate Protection Management System (EKM) of the German Energy Agency (DENA) as a basis. The modern indicator systems for regional development of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, the Xiong’an New District and the Beijing Municipal Administrative Centre are also used as a basis. The Eco-City indicator system is divided into three areas: green ecology, liveable life and innovative production; of which 11 are control indicators and 9 are leading indicators. The indicator system thus guides the construction and development of the Eco-City throughout its life cycle.

Early warning systems and disaster preparedness to protect against forest fires and preserve biodiversity

Posted on by erik

The virtual kick-off event of the Biodiversity and Environmental Protection Working Group of the Connective Cities network in MENA was held on the 9th August 2021. The event aimed at initiating a practice–oriented knowledge exchange between urban practitioners in the field of biodiversity and environmental protection, facilitating peer learning on state-of-the-art technology to increase resilience and improve disaster preparedness related to forest fires, fostering development of concrete projects ideas related to forest fires prevention and raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the value of ecosystem protection, risk factors, and the protection and preparedness tools.

Two examples on the deployment of early warning systems for forest fires from Lebanon (SBR experience in forest fires prevention in Shouf Biosphere Reserve, by Mr. Nizar Hani) and Germany (Early warning system of forest fires in Lower Saxony, by Mr. Helmut Beuke) were presented. The event was attended by 20 municipalities joining from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Algeria, Tunisia, and Germany. The participants showcased the progress achieved by local disaster management offices and engaged in peer learning for additional improvement of the local and national capacities. In addition, the participants shared practice-oriented experience, which facilitated transferring, sustaining and innovating effectively applied solutions.

A second virtual session for this working group will be held on the 8th September 2021, showcasing good practice examples from Hannover-Germany and Menjez-Lebanon on municipal leadership and commitment to improve biodiversity protection and successful local actions in the field of biodiversity management.

Pop-up bike lanes: long-term opportunities for green urban development after the Covid-19 pandemic?

Posted on by erik

The event series “Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures” is part of this year’s Connective Cities COVID programme and facilitates a regular, open exchange on relevant topics of the post-COVID-19 era for municipal practitioners and relevant experts worldwide. Different topics of sustainable urban development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed and innovative approaches in this regard will be shared in brief and concise virtual exchange formats. The aim of these events is to provide impulses that encourage participants to reflect on their progress so far and think about innovative solutions. The open discussion rounds will take place on Wednesdays once every three weeks. 

We are pleased to invite you to the fourth event in the series on “Pop-up bike lanes: long-term opportunities for green urban development after the Covid-19 pandemic?” on Wednesday, September 8th, 2021, from 15:30 to 17:00 CEST.

They appeared suddenly: bike lanes separated by yellow markings and conspicuous warning bars, replacing parking lanes, parts of the roadways or even the entire right lanes on busy roads. Following the example of the Colombian capital Bogotá, dozens of kilometers of new bike lanes have been built in cities around the world after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bike lanes allow urban residents to get more physical activity and offer hope for a shift towards a more sustainable urban mobility and transportation and a reduction of CO2 emissions in cities. As a result, many users want the pop-up bike lanes to remain in place after the pandemic and urban researchers and practitioners value them as a great opportunity for a more climate friendly and healthy urban development and a paradigm shift in urban mobility in the post-COVID era.

However, there is also criticism on the new bike lanes. Motorists fear more congestion and longer travel times with increased traffic after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the pop-up bike lanes lead to fewer lanes are available for cars. This would also contradict the plan to improve air quality. This would also contradict the plan to improve air quality. There are also fears of more accidents when cars and bicyclists meet in close quarters. As a result, the cities of Berlin and Munich, for example, have had to contend with lawsuits against the preservation of pop-up bike lanes.

In this session insights into good practices of cities and the challenges they are facing will be presented. Discussions on the pop-up bike lanes and their long-term preservation will be stimulated and urban practitioners worldwide will exchange and be made aware of the opportunities of more bike lanes for green urban development in the post-COVID era.

To register for the event and stay updated on the agenda, the announcement of speakers and further details of the session please follow:  

Insight Session: Pop-up bike lanes - Long-term opportunities for green urban development? | Connective Cities Network (connective-cities.net)  

Date: Wednesday, September 8th

Time: 15:30-17:00 CEST

Event language: English (translation tba)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact: angela.beckmann-wuebbelt@giz.de

Beyond Climate

Posted on by erik

When planning and investing in infrastructure projects, innovative cities bundle together a larger set of overarching objectives in the social, economic, environmental, health and governance realms. Integrating multiple benefits in climate infrastructure projects tends to enhance their political and financial/ fiscal viability, scalability, and replicability. Identifying and planning for benefits during early project development stages increase the project’s success, both in delivering positive environment and human-centred impacts, as well as in mobilising political buy-in and connecting with finance.

This report aims to show that project preparation facilities (PPFs) can and should aid in integrating climate action with other, highly synergetic development and cooperation objectives.

Sustainable Urban Energy Planning – Road to Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy powered municipalities

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Approximately 90 experts and urban practitioners from more than 30 municipalities within 9 countries of Southeast Europe, gathered to discuss major opportunities and challenges convoked by the shift towards greener energy consumption around the world. As major countries of the world come out with bod statements of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, all of us need to keep up the pace and start acting on the promised shift. The Dialogue event held during the week of 17-21 May focused on discussions of energy efficient solutions, innovative renewable energy sources as well as on getting some new insights into the EU Green Deal.

This event offered a virtual platform to discuss these challenges and supported municipalities in developing locally adapted solutions for climate challenges, specifically those related to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

During these 5 days of asynchronous and synchronous digital meetings participants listened to inspiring Keynote presentations from leading European scientists and shared insights with peers.

This report is the detailed documentation of the event.

Wiesbaden: sustainable urban logistics

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The increasing number of delivery vehicles is congesting our city centers and is causing more CO2 emissions. In the Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden (Germany), the situation was getting so bad that the city had to take action. The city government introduced the Green City Master Plan. One focus of the plan: Urban Logistics. Learn in our video how the city brought together different stakeholders and how delivery and pick-up traffic were optimized by a team of urban logistics experts.

Watch video at YouTube: https://youtu.be/-evOxsOsyn0

More information: Nachhaltige Stadtlogistik Wiesbaden (in German)

Early warning systems and disaster preparedness to protect against forest fires and preserve biodiversity

Posted on by erik

The kickoff event aims at introducing the participants to the thematic working group ‘Biodiversity and Environmental Protection, as well as presenting two examples on best practices from Germany and Lebanon on the deployment of early warning systems for forest fires. There is an ever-growing need to strengthen decentralised cooperation between the MENA region and Germany on the dissemination of good practices peer advisory in this thematic field.

At a regional level, the land resources of the MENA region suffer from three main challenges: aridity, recurrent drought, and desertification. Major causes of land degradation are forest fire, deforestation, inappropriate agricultural techniques.  Land degradation in MENA is due to wildfire especially that forest management is weak, and that residential developments are spreading to mountainous and vegetated areas. Wildfires are often originated due to human carelessness, to the lack of their consideration to the environment and the climate change.

This event is an opportunity to showcase the progress achieved by local disaster management offices as well as promoting peer learning for additional improvement of the local and national capacities. Sharing practice-oriented experience facilitates transferring, sustaining and innovating effective applied solutions. The event’s objectives are as follows:

  • Initiate a practice-oriented knowledge exchange between urban practitioners in the field of biodiversity and environmental protection.
  • Facilitate peer learning on state-of-the-art technology to increase resilience and improve disaster preparedness related to forest fires.
  • Foster development of concrete projects ideas related to forest fires prevention.
  • Raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the value of ecosystem protection, risk factors, and the protection and preparedness tools.

Date: Monday, 09.08.2021

Time: 11:00-13:30 CEST

Event language: English, Arabic, German (tbc)

Agenda and Registration

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us!

Contact: muna.shalan@giz.de

Covid-19 and Urban Mobility

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Summary of the Connective Cities Virtual Dialogue Event in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and UN-Habitat and hosted by the City of Wiesbaden – Germany , 19, 20 and 22 July 2021
 

1. Covid-19: A major turning point for urban mobility

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to fundamental changes in urban mobility worldwide. Some impacts are short-term, especially during lockdowns. Others are long-term changes in the way urban mobility and traffic will operate in the future.

One of the main responses of governments worldwide to the pandemic was to restrict circulation of people. However, municipalities still had to guarantee the mobility of essential workers and goods. There was also a shift in behaviour, with citizens changing their regular modes of transport for reasons of safety and hygiene. Modes of transport which allow for physical distancing, such as walking, cycling and private cars are now favoured, whereas there is a decline in the use of public and shared transport. Lockdown restrictions further contribute to the rise in e-commerce and delivery services, posing particular challenges for last mile freight distribution.

Having experienced reduced traffic and less pollution during lockdowns, the motivation to promote more sustainable urban mobility has grown for many local governments. Investing in measures such as active mobility infrastructure, safer and more accessible public transport and low-emission transport options are in accordance with the imperative aim of economic recovery, as infrastructure investments may lead to job creation and private investment in diverse economic sectors.
 

2. Focus on local public transport, bicycle traffic and urban logistics

During the three-day event, 55 participants, including representatives of municipal administrations and enterprises, civil society, business and academia from over 15 countries, discussed how they could shape the future urban mobility in terms of

  1. Local public transport: Local public transport operators around the world face an unprecedented decline in passenger numbers and, consequently, severe revenue losses due to the restrictions imposed to control the pandemic. In many cities, financing models had to be reconsidered and it is necessary to regain passengers’ trust and maintain the attractiveness of services.
  2. Bicycle traffic: The pandemic has underlined the need for more bike-friendly cities and can be an opportunity to rethink urban space and the role of cycling in urban mobility. Many municipalities promote active travel.
  3. Sustainable urban logistics: With growing e-commerce and an increasing number of goods deliveries in cities, freight movement within cities has to be adapted.

In her opening speech, Stefanie Holzwarth from UN-Habitat emphasised that “we have a window of opportunity to learn from this pandemic and to build back better by making our mobility systems more resilient and responsive to crises. We should aim to get out of this stronger and ready to address climate change, air pollution and road fatalities, because the world cannot accept any further delays!” Sergio Arredondo from the Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Municipal Associations (FLACMA), speaking on behalf of UCLG, reminded participants that it was not enough to continue to provide local transport services; they have to be provided in a healthy and safe manner. Around the world, municipalities were witnessing a bicycle revolution – which has to be reflected in future urban development and design. In a welcome speech, Bettina Gies from the event’s host city of Wiesbaden said that international exchange on urban mobility was crucial, because agile and active solutions were needed to tackle current and future urban mobility challenges.

After presenting thirteen examples of good practice in the areas of public transport, bicycle traffic and urban logistics, municipalities, civil society and private sector participants shared their related challenges, discussed them in peer-to-peer learning processes and jointly developed potential solutions. The challenges presented ranged from reducing e-commerce-related waste in the city of Taoyuan (Taiwan) and increasing citizens’ acceptance of bike lanes in Cuenca (Ecuador) to making public transport more attractive in terms of speed in Yerevan (Armenia) and increasing mutual appreciation and respect between different road users in Wiesbaden (Germany).