Category: Integrated urban development

Building Resilience: Insights from the Project Planning Workshop

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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.

Developing a climate change strategy in-house

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External consultants often develop climate protection strategies for municipalities, which then end up in the shelf because their implementation does not match the capabilities of the municipality, the measures are too costly or there is little ownership in the departments of the municipality. Kouga municipality was able to successfully conduct the in-house development of a climate strategy. They followed a cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach, including various departments of the municipal administration. This was supported by a development advisor funded by the “Experts fund for Municipal Partnerships worldwide” between 2021 and 2023. It was a challenge to bring together and activate all these players and at the same time gain political support, but eventually this approach enabled an integrated and therefore feasible strategy.

The climate change strategy consists of three implementation lines. The first line focuses on mainstreaming climate change into the municipal management, the second line talks to responses to main climate change vulnerabilities and the third line lists short-term measures that were identified through the process. Several of these are already being implemented now such as tree planting and dune rehabilitation.

City-to-city collaboration is key to streamlining climate neutrality and decentralized energy production

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Together with the Connective Cities, the Association of German Cities organized a side event in the German Pavilion at the COP28 World Climate Conference in Dubai on the question of “What solutions are there for sustainable and decentralized energy generation and supply at local level”. On 6 December at 2 p.m. local time, representatives from German and African cities (Cologne, Bonn, eThekwini and Abuja) discussed their local innovations for climate-friendly energy solutions.

In her keynote speech, Katja Dörner, Vice-President of the German Association of Cities, Mayor of Bonn, and ICLEI Co-Chair for Climate Action, emphasized the importance of a socially just and participatory approach to a climate and energy transition. She emphasized that the voice of cities in climate negotiations is essential to achieve global goals.

She showed how the city of Bonn can achieve climate neutrality by 2035 and called on the federal level to make swift changes to support the local level. The EU and the German federal level must create the framework for a climate-friendly energy transition. She again emphasized the importance of making climate protection and adaptation a mandatory task for local authorities.

Rebuilding, but better!

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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).

“Action for Cool Cities”

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As part of the session organised by CitiesAdapt at the Adaptation Futures conference, the representative of the Kisumu county in Kenya (James Nyagol) participated in a panel discussion on nature-based solutions and involvement of the indigenous people for the sustainability of climate adaptation solutions. Mr. Nyagol, who holds the position of the Senior Climate Change Officer at Kisumu county, has shared his experience in developing solution to employ green infrastructure for inducing urban cooling and reducing risks of flooding along the Auji creek in Kisumu. The solution was developed as part of Connective Cities learning process “Action for Cool Cities”.

Furthermore, some of the outcomes of the learning process “Action for Cool Cities” were presented at 59th ISOCARP World Planning Congress. Under the title “Inclusive Climate Action in Cities: An elusive goal for local authorities?”, examples of the solutions developed were presented and discussed including the aspect of financing. Similarly, some insights from the learning process and the developed solutions were also presented at the Urban Thinkers Campus “Heat Stress Resilience: Translating Strategy into Urban Climate Actions” in Cairo.  

Similarly, the municipalities of Irbid, Bab Amman and Kufranja presented and discussed with their peers’ solutions developed on green infrastructure during the Green Action Workshop in Amman organised by “Cash for Work” project at GiZ Jordan in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Greater Amman municipality.

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

Renewable Energy for Local Economic Development in Africa

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The main objective of the workshop is to develop renewable energy projects in African cities.

The workshop was attended by 30 practitioners* from city governments, associations and the private sector representing 7 countries and 20 cities from Africa, as well as high-level guests including the Country Director of GIZ, the Kenyan Ministry of Energy, the head of the Romanian Development Agency (RoAid), the City of Gersthofen from Germany, and officials from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Representatives from various cities in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Tunisia also contributed to the success of the conference with their presentations of the framework conditions and project examples.

Connective Cities at the Africa Climate Summit 2023

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4 – 6 September 2023 marked the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, with leaders around the world gathering in Nairobi to express their support for putting Africa at the forefront in addressing climate change and calling for more attention to be paid to Africa’s priorities and resources.

Climate change action must increasingly focus on the urban scale as cities are both significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to its impacts. With most of the global population now residing in cities, initiatives aimed at reducing emissions and building resilience at the urban level can have a substantial impact on overall climate goals. Sustainable urban planning, investments in clean energy and public transportation, and the development of climate-resilient infrastructure are crucial steps in mitigating climate change and safeguarding the well-being of urban populations. As cities continue to grow, it becomes imperative to prioritize sustainable urban development to ensure a more sustainable and climate-resilient future for all.

The rationale of having cities play an increased role in addressing climate change was realized through the Connective Cities side event on “Flood Risk Management, the essential role of cities and importance of municipal preparedness”. The side event aimed to underline the importance of the role which cities played in combatting climate change, and the benefits of peer learning and exchange in finding localized solutions for climate resilient development. The session was organized into a keynote delivered by Dr. Johanes Belle from the University of the Freestate in Bloemfontein, South Africa, followed by a panel discussion that included Dr. Abdourrahmane Maikanti, Mayor of Garoua lll council (CM); H.E. Benjamin Chesire Cheboi, Governor of Baringo County (KE); Andreas Wolter, Deputy Mayor of Cologne (DE) and; Enock Tumbo, Environmental Management Officer, Dar es Salaam (TZ).

Gender mainstreaming and inclusive governance in municipalities

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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. Get inspired by short video!

Watch video at YouTube: https://youtu.be/JHvDIx2e40k

Further information: https://www.connective-cities.net/en/news/gender-mainstreaming-and-inclusive-governance-in-municipalities