As a second milestone of the Deep Dive process, a workshop was held in Nairobi from 4 to 7 March 2024. The workshop marked the transition from the phase of sensemaking of the local contexts towards prioritization of challenges and solution options. Participants representing the cities of Nairobi, Aswan, Mombasa, Lviv, Lüdenscheid and Heidelberg discussed the observations and findings from the initial participatory field research including insights into how stakeholders and relevant actors perceive challenges related to the phenomenon of urban heat. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to learn about projects and initiatives implemented in Nairobi that are relevant to building resilience to urban heat.
Category: Security in cities
Connective Cities at the Africa Climate Summit 2023
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).
The learning process on flood management for risk-informed urban development has begun
The Connective Cities learning process on “Flood Management for Risk-Informed Urban Development” has taken off with great success. From 18 to 20 April 2023 practitioners from 16 cities and municipalities gathered in Windhoek, Namibia, for a kick-off event aimed at enhancing their understanding of flood management and promoting resilient urban development.
Jointly organized by Connective Cities the Global Initiative for Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM), the German Association of Cities (DST), and Engagement Global, this event marked the beginning of an intensive exchange of expertise. Let’s delve into the highlights of this initiative.
Promoting resilient urban development
The opening remarks were given by Ms. Judith Middleton from the GIZ project “Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development” who represented GIZ’s country director Dr. Thomas Kirsch. The host city of Windhoek, represented by the Deputy Mayor of Windhoek Municipality, honourable Ms. Magdalena Lombard indicated that mainstreaming disaster risk management (DRM) means understanding and acting on disaster risks as part of decision-making processes across sectors to protect development progress, reduce losses and support growth. Ms. Hellen Likando from the Directorate Disaster Risk Management at the Office of the Prime Minister highlighted that the government of Namibia is geared towards building resilience towards disasters in line with the global Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). She further encouraged participants to use the event to learn, tap into best practices, and to develop innovative ideas that can provide long-term flood risk management solutions to their respective cities for risk-informed urban development initiatives.
Water-sensitive urban planning – How can heavy rain and storm water be better managed?
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.
Strengthening the resilience and capacity to rebuild cities and critical municipal infrastructure in times of war
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.
Transformative Riverine Management Programme
The Transformative Riverine Management Programme from the municipality of eThewkwini (Durban, South Africa) is an innovative project to integrate adaptive water and climate management and establishes a partnership between the municipality, research institutions, community organisations and citizens. The programme aims to transform the management of over 7,400 km of watercourses and river corridors. The aim is to improve water quality through ecosystem-based adaptations and reduce flood risk through community-level projects, such as paying for collected waste that can lead to drain blockages.
Interview with:
- Mr Geoff Tooley, Coastal Stormwater and Catchment Management Division, Department of Engineering, eThekwini Municipality.
- Mr. Emmanuel K. Letebele, Senior Planner, eThekwini Municipality
Watch video at YouTube:
Mr Emmanuel Letebele was part of the Working Group on Risk-Informed Urban Development (RIUD) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This working group is a joint initiative of GIZ’s Connective Cities programmes and the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management programme. More information on the RIUD working group.
India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX)
To build cities of the future, which provide good quality of life, improved economic robustness, and harmony with nature, India needs unique solutions that are not only efficient but also offer services and benefits to all segments of society. It has chosen to leverage data in creating these solutions by facilitating the real-time sharing of data among stakeholders through an open, neutral, and secure platform, the India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX). IUDX is all about the use of data for public good and enabling data providers to create innovative services and generate value.
Safe, colourful, liveable streets and places in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Two 30 km/h zones were planned in Belo Horizonte as traffic calming measures and successfully implemented in 2019 to reduce car traffic and make neighbourhoods safer and more liveable. This change process took place with the broad participation of the local retail community, the residents and, in particular, the local schools. The public acceptance was very high. The project was inspired by peer-to-peer consultations during a dialogue event in Bremen and a subsequent expert mission of German experts to Belo Horizonte. The project now serves as a model for further similar action in other districts.
Video: Pop-up bike lanes during the Pandemic
Reducing the number of accidents, while at the same time increasing safety for everyone? Bogotá showed us, that this is possible and that the key to promote sustainable urban planning and environmentally friendly mobility are pop-up bike lanes. The concept of pop-up bike lanes, which emerged especially due to the COVID pandemic, is spreading not only in Bogotá, but also worldwide, for example in Berlin.
Both cities face the challenge that for a long time the principle of the car-friendly city was pursued in urban and transport planning. With an increase in cyclists during the pandemic and the limitation of public space, it was necessary to rethink and meet the needs of residents, for example to increase road safety for cyclists. This Good Practice outlines the undertaken measures in transport planning, the opinions of residents to the new concept and how in the end all road users can benefit from pop-up bike lanes in the long term, whether in Bogotá or Berlin.
The Protagonists are:
- Sebastián Posada García (Bicycle and Pedestrian Sub-Dictorate, Bogotá)
- Dr. Lea Wisken (Head of Cycling and Pedestrian Coordination Office, Berlin)
Watch video at YouTube (with mit English or Spanish sub-title):
Creating inclusive public spaces for women
Public spaces can bring together communities and facilitate cultural expression and diversity, so it is important to look at how public spaces can promote women-city relationship building. Femmedina, a combination of the terms “femmes” (women) and “medina” (historical city), is the name of a project implemented in the historic center of Tunis. The project has the ambition to foster this relationship building.