Category: City and biodiversity

Green Urban Development: learning from inspiring examples of implementation

Posted on by erik

How do we promote climate neutral urban development?

The world must drastically reduce its CO2 emissions by 2050 to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Globally, we are seeing an influx into cities over the past 30 years and, cities are one of the main spaces where CO2 emissions are directly caused. Emissions in urban areas stem from construction projects, traffic flows, increasing energy consumption from a growing population, production of waste and other factors. “However, the urban space is also the solution space for the climate change,” said one of the participants in the working groups on Green Urban Development. This sentiment was also reflected in a study conducted by the German Advisory Council on Global Change, among other studies carried out globally.

Urban solutions include, for example, the use of new mobility formats such as traffic-calmed urban spaces, roll-out of innovative of e-mobility and bike lane solutions, the reduction of pollution from resource intensive economic sectors, more sustainable building and renovation practices based on circularity, development of urban spaces to promote local economic cycles and community activities and, decentralized energy supply and waste concepts.

Aim of the working groups on Green Urban Development

The COVID-19 program “Green Urban Development” was implemented in cooperation with the consulting company Mesopartner and the Wuppertal Institute. The program included three working groups, each with 3 to 4 cities and their representatives, mostly partners from local city governments or local research institutions. The objective was to promote the implementation of concrete projects that promote climate neutral city efforts

The three working groups had the following focus areas:

  • Working Group 1: Mobility solutions in cities
  • Working group 2: The transformation of urban spaces and reuse of “urban space” through new community formats and mobility solutions
  • Working Group 3: A mixed group linking urban energy, mobility and spatial approaches

From the formation of the working groups, it became clear that solution approaches often overlap or, that different solutions can approaches create synergies. This also enabled an exchange of experiences between the working groups. The participating cities in the program were Bhuj/Ahmedabad, Belo Horizonte, Kochi, Lalitpur, Dortmund, Buenos Aires, Quito, Montevideo, Hamburg, Kigali, Kisumu and Bremen.

First, second and third process steps: From ideas to concrete project proposals

In a first step, project ideas were developed in the respective working group:

  • Creation of a bicycle traffic concept using the example of the bicycle paths in Lalitpur
  • Creation of a child-friendly environmental zone in the neighborhood and the design of speed-reduced recreation areas
  • Greening of roofs to create a sustainable and green urban environment and combining it with renewable energy solutions and urban gardening activities
  • Municipal bio-waste management at the neighborhood level in collaboration with local citizens
  • Promotion of traffic-calming zones in Kigali
  • Increasing green, retention and infiltration areas in cities.
  • Application of sensor technologies to analyze neighborhoods and places with high Co2 emissions.
  • Planning pop-up bike lanes and building safe bike lanes.
  • Last-mile connectivity solutions and electro-based logistics solutions in the center of cities.

In bilateral meetings the topics of interest were explored, and the cities exchange on their experiences.

In a second step of the project, larger network meetings were organized in each working group. Here, the cities in the respective working group exchanged their experiences and presented inspiring implementation approaches. A variety of solution approaches and experience reports were exchanged here, including the creation of a pollution mapping and the e-mobility concept of Kigali, first last mile connectivity approaches in Buenos Aires, the development of the e-mobility hub in Quito, pop-up lanes in Berlin, environmental zones and bike lanes approaches in Belo Horizonte, the development of first bike lanes and app sharing concepts in Lalitpur, etc.

Based on this concrete exchange across the working groups, further bilateral experience exchange meetings were initiated to further develop initial ideas of prototypes. The prototypes included:

  • Delivery/unloading areas and electronic transport via hubs in the old city of Buenos Aires
  • Child-friendly and traffic-calming spaces in Bhuj
  • Scaling up bicycle infrastructure projects and app-sharing solutions in Lalitpur.

Based on these prototypes, concrete project proposals were developed with the objective to start fund raising for the implementation of the initiatives. In the Urban Space working group, Bhuj will implement the project “Safe access to schools for children through child-friendly and traffic-calmed zones.” The mobility-urban space-energy working group developed a project for Belo Horizonte, the establishment of an urban ecology laboratory. The exchanges in the Mobility Working Group eventually led to the project “Applied Technology for Loading and Unloading Public Zones in Buenos Aires”.

Implementation of Green City Pioneer of Change Events

In addition to the internal network exchange in the working groups, other stakeholders from cities around the world were involved in the reflection process for new climate-neutral city solutions. For this purpose, two large “Green City Pioneer of Change” workshops were organized, where in each of them more than 50 international participants were presented. The events had the objective to share good practices as well as to reflect jointly on key success factors and challenges. 

Detailed information

A variety of input speeches, video presentations, presentations, workshop results and good practices can be found on the Connective Cities website from various documented events:

Connective Cities Lab- Expert Input
with Climate City Expert Prof. Oliver Lah (Wuppertal Institut), 11. November 2021: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/968

Participation of the three working groups in Design Thinking Workshops (15-17.11 2021):

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/959

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/960

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/961

Working group meeting with exchange of good practices in the working group „Mobility“

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/1102

Working group meeting with exchange of good practices in the working group Urban Space, Mobility, Energy (03.12.21)

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/1095

First large Green City Pioneers of Change Event (19.01.2022)

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/1111

Second Green City Pioneers of Change Event (25.02.22)

https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/1130

Seeds for the Future

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To address environmental challenges related to the loss of native species as well as the increasing CO2 emissions due to urbanisation, Karak municipality in Jordan constructed a nursery that aims at growing trees from native species. Besides demonstrating environmental protection and the transition into renewable energy sources, the project will have an economic impact resulting from the savings in the municipal budget as well as job creation for the local community.

Municipal Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic – MENA region

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In the wake of the Pandemic, municipalities in the MENA region in both urban and rural areas need to rethink their modes of operation and accelerate their shift towards building resilience during the recovery process. In an effort to support municipalities that are members of the Connective Cities network in the MENA region, four thematic working groups were established as part of Connective Cities program ‘Municipal Recovery from the Pandemic.’ Objectives of this working group include promoting practice–oriented knowledge exchange between municipal and urban practitioners, facilitating peer learning on sustainable and innovative approaches to build resilience in cities through biodiversity and environmental protection, digitalisation of municipal services, and promoting social entrepreneurship for circularity. The program has resulted in the development of concrete urban solutions. Another outcome was the creation of partnerships between municipalities as well as with private sector actors to articulate the proposed solutions and scale up the impact. This report summarizes the main achievements until February 2022.

Urban Gardening Guidebook

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From July to December 2020, an initial intensive global programme on ‘municipal response to the pandemic’ was conducted by Connective Cities that has been augmented with the programme ‘municipal recovery from the pandemic’ starting August 2021. The working group “Biodiversity and Environmental Protection” was the first group to be established as part of this programme.

This Guidebook is one result of an extensive exhange. It explains,  why Urban Gardening Matters? and guides the reader through all steps of an urban gardening project – from the first situational analysis, over the preparatory and implementation phase up to a final monitoring and evaluation.

“Firewatch” – State-of-the-art technology for early forest fire detection

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Both the frequency and intensity of wildfires are increasing worldwide as a result of climate change.  If wildfires are out of control, they can have a devastating effect, endangering human lives and causing long-term damage such as biodiversity loss. To minimise this danger, the State Forests Department of Lower Saxony, Germany has installed a system for the early detection of wildfires.

Building. Forward. Better

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We look back on an eventful year. Hopes of getting the Corona pandemic under control quickly fizzled out. The World Climate Conference cast its shadow ahead, only to end with a mediocre result. Despite, or perhaps because of, these setbacks, experts at the municipal level intensified their cooperation to better meet the challenges of the pandemic and climate change. Our networks expanded, project proposals became more concrete, working groups more agile, and some “champion municipalities” are themselves doing much to move the networks forward. It is time to pause for a moment, look back and dare to look forward to the future. Our coordinators of the regional networks in South Eastern Europe, the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa describe this from their own personal perspective.

The Future of the Southeast Europe Region – by Irakli Samkharadze and Elene Samukashvili

As the year comes to a close Connective Cities Southeast European Region celebrates achievements of every concurrent Learning and Peer-exchange processes held with the support of urban practitioners, experts, consultancies and technical personnel from all over the world.

Activities under Learning Processes on Climate Resilient Urban Development and Sustainable Urban Energy Planning, underway in SEE region will continue into the upcoming year with an updated roadmap. We will proceed with expert missions, financial advisory and project proposals polishing support, in close synergy with financial institutions. This support will be provided for projects identified through Dialogue Events and Planning Workshops held in past two years.

In 2021 under Connective Cities COVID-19 Programme, Southeast European Region (SEE) gathered amazing and motivated professionals from all over the region who worked in two directions of Crisis Management and Digitalisation. As of new year, Programme Teams aims to maintain the close contact with the groups, through the Network, providing them with further news, updates and guidance.

As the network of the region is constantly expanding, planned activities are also amplifying and growing in their directions and frequency. 2022 promises to be a very active and highly engaging time for the network. Our topics include but are not limited to Sustainable Urban Development, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Urban Planning, Green Technologies, Infrastructure and recovery, Crisis management & Digitalisation, while also constantly looking into new directions according to preferences of Network Members and political Developments in the region.

Kontakt: Irakli Samkharadze (irakli.samkharadze@giz.de)

Sub-Saharan Africa – an outlook to 2022 – by Sophia Kamau

We have braved another year of virtual learning, networking and finding solutions to our urban challenges. Thank you for being part of this journey by sharing good practices, challenges, contacts and expertise.

We look over the skies into the endless opportunities that time gives and envision 2022. Based on the networks built, relationships established, and ideas exchanged, we would like to share our thoughts with you as we get into a reflective season.

In 2022 we will finalize the learning processes on urban basic services and sector governance and land management and land use planning. This will be through support to municipalities working on their proposals and those seeking expertise support. Through partnerships with like-minded institutions, we will have more opportunities to learn and exchange through the thematic working groups; solid waste management, urban green spaces, climate change and urban mobility.

We welcome you to join this community of transformers in the region.

From the Sub Saharan Africa desk, we appreciate your cooperation and wish you happy holidays!

Contacts: Sophia Kamau (sophia.kamau@giz.de)

Connective Cities in the MENA region: Champion Cities taking ownership of the network in 2022 – by Muna Shalan

Over the past year, the vibrant network of Connective Cities in the MENA region has grown and has intensified its activities: we are now at 235 registered members! To sustain the momentum and ensure the sustainability of the network, champion cities will take the lead in steering the activities of the different thematic working groups starting next year. This will include peer learning, good practice presentation and joint proposal development. Upon showcasing the outcomes of the activities in the planned regional event in January 2022, the network members will be able to nominate themselves or vote for the steering committee of the regional working groups that include local economic development and job creation, municipal energy efficiency projects, biodiversity and environmental protection, digitalisation of municipal services, social entrepreneurship and circular economy.

We are also looking forward for new partnerships with regional city associations in 2022. This includes our recently signed MoU with UCLG MEWA to strengthen decentralised regional cooperation.

Contact: Muna Shalan (muna.shalan@giz.de )

A green infrastructure plan for Mexico City

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In collaboration with public administration, academia and urban society, the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of the City of Mexico has developed a comprehensive master plan for the development of green infrastructure in Mexico City. The master plan aims to preserve and create green urban spaces ranging from parks and gardens to larger nature reserves. Another focus is the renaturation of urban rivers. Especially in one of the world’s largest cities, the pandemic highlights the importance of access to public green spaces for residents. This good practice from Mexico shows how the design process of a master plan can succeed in an inclusive and dynamic way with the involvement of diverse population groups.

Watch video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/5mstcHadvho

Sustainable, informed and participatory land management and land use planning in rapidly growing cities in Sub Saharan Africa

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Connective Cities Sub Saharan Africa organized a three part series of workshops on the topic of ‘Sustainable, informed and participatory land management and land use planning in rapidly growing cities’ as subsequent steps to the dialogue event held in May. The objectives of the series were to support the cities better understand their projects, provide an opportunity for review by German experts, train on proposal writing and offer financial advisory.

 The conceptual approach was based on:

  • analyzing the status quo of the process and the individual projects
  • integrating all stakeholders of the relevant projects
  • co-designing solutions through interactive learning
  • harnessing the skills within the group of the project owners supported with expert advice
  • outcome driven to achieve the main goal to enable the participants finalize their relevant proposals

Four municipalities from Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia presented their project ideas and the gaps therein. These project ideas are:

  1. Development of socio-economic initiatives that will complement biodiversity protection and management and enhance cultural and heritage resources in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa
  2. Adams-R603 Settlement Plan- eThekwini, South Africa
  3. Integrated Land Management System for Livingstone City Council, Zambia
  4. Development of the banks of Lake Baleng with rest & recreational areas in the Commune of Bafoussam II, Cameroon

Integration of nature based solutions in land use planning

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The citizens of Durban are proud of their “green” metropolis. The fact that public spaces have been kept green or have been restored to their natural state is the result of a movement with its origins in the 1980s, the “Open Space Network”. In this podcast, Sabelo Nkosi, responsible for biodiversity planning at eThekwini Municpality, describes the work of the network, in which communities, science, SMEs and the city administration are equally involved. The green spaces not only provide biodiversity, they also mitigate the impacts of climate change and help people adapt more easily.

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/8rOm9WgRzHo

Call for participation: The post-COVID City – towards greener cities

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Connective Cities and its partners invite you to the sixth Insight Session, which will be held under the title “The post-COVID City – bringing together urban practitioners to work towards greener cities” virtualy on 18 October, 10:00-11:30 CEST.

The Insight Session will address the question “The city after Corona? When urban planners, climate scientists and health experts work together, the result can only be green”. The session is part of the so-called Urban October. During the month of October, UN-Habitat and partner organisations organise activities and discussions on sustainable urbanisation. The Insight Session will focus on the challenges and lessons learned in designing cities to better resist the spread of disease and redesigning urban planning to adapt to the risks of health crises.

Further information:  Insight Session: The post-COVID City – bringing together urban practitioners to work towards greener cities | Connective Cities Network

Event Language: English

The Insight Session will be moderated by Franziska Loibl, Ute Maas and Tino Bosire. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Franziska Loibl (franziska.loibl@giz.de)
Ute Maas (ute.maas@giz.de)
Tino Bosire (tino.bosire@giz.de)