This good practice describes how the town of Banepa is restoring its historic centre and a retirement home using traditional building methods. Bio-based building materials such as wood, bamboo, brick and clay are much more sustainable and earthquake-resistant than cement or concrete.
Category: Urban renewal
Rebuilding, but better!
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
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: Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort
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 virtual 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.
As a second module of the learning process, Connective Cities workshop on ideation and prototyping took place in Amman, Jordan on the 7th-9th March 2023. The workshop focused on ideation and prototyping of solutions by the participating municipalities within the following thematic fields:
- Designing climate-responsive outdoor public spaces and promoting engagement of citizens
- Steering Structure: Interdepartmental Communication framework/platform in municipalities
- Optimizing existing building and urban design regulations by introducing key performance indicators and improving in-house capacity to drive change
- The role of municipality as a regulator and implementer: budget analysis and strategies for cost recovery of climate action measures
Participation in the second module of the learning process enabled the municipalities to share experiences, develop their capacities, and develop ideas for prototyping in their municipalities. The next stage or third module of the learning process gave a chance to these municipalities to test and optimize the envisioned prototypes in an iterative process that included conducting participatory sessions with stakeholders (including citizens, decision makers, and experts). The process revealed the significance of producing quantitative and qualitative evidence to back up the proposed seven solutions.
Action for Cool Cities: Pathways for carbon reduction in buildings and improvement of outdoor thermal comfort
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 virtual 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.
As a second module of the learning process, Connective Cities workshop on ideation and prototyping took place in Amman, Jordan on the 7th-9th March 2023. The workshop focused on ideation and prototyping of solutions by the participating municipalities within the following thematic fields:
- Designing climate-responsive outdoor public spaces and promoting engagement of citizens
- Steering Structure: Interdepartmental Communication framework/platform in municipalities
- Optimizing existing building and urban design regulations by introducing key performance indicators and improving in-house capacity to drive change
- The role of municipality as a regulator and implementer: budget analysis and strategies for cost recovery of climate action measures
Participation in the second module of the learning process enabled the municipalities to share experiences, develop their capacities, and develop ideas for prototyping in their municipalities. The next stage or third module of the learning process gave a chance to these municipalities to test and optimize the envisioned prototypes in an iterative process that included conducting participatory sessions with stakeholders (including citizens, decision makers, and experts). The process revealed the significance of producing quantitative and qualitative evidence to back up the proposed seven solutions.
Tree trenches for quality of life in Hagen
The German City of Hagen lies on the edge of the Sauerland low mountain range and has a hilly topography. Four rivers – the Ruhr, the Volme, the Lenne and the Ennepe – run through the city. As a result, large parts of the city are at risk of flooding, especially during heavy rainfall events. As part of a pilot project, specially developed innovative tree trenches (or tree drains) are now being planted. These are designed to make the city safer, more climate-resilient and thus more liveable.
Bairro Maravilha – marvellous neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro
The Bairro Maravilha programme, which translates as ‘Wonderful Neighbourhood’, has been implemented in more than 90 locations in Brazil’s second largest city, Rio de Janeiro. It is providing urbanisation and infrastructure systems in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, especially in the suburbs. The programme includes the asphalting of streets, the creation of safe sidewalks, and the restoration of public lighting with LEDs and the installation of a sewerage and drainage network to prevent flooding. In places where there is no space for orderly urbanization, the program builds new housing to reorder the urban space. It has already urbanised over six million square metres across the city, which has improved drainage and living conditions in all the areas concerned.
Water Sensitive Urban Planning in times of Climate Change
Heavy rain and storm water events such as those in the Ahr Valley in Germany in 2021, or in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa in 2022, cause streams to swell to raging torrents, flood roads, destroy houses and bridges and lead to loss of life as well as damage worth billions. They occur suddenly and can only be predicted in the short term. According to a study supported by the World Bank, flood risk already affects 1.81 billion people, more than 20% of the global population, most of them in poor and middle income countries.
In consequence, local governments and municipal leaders, planners and service providers look for more integrated and inclusive solutions to avoid human, environmental and financial losses related to flood.
This Peer Learning Note (PLN) documents the practices and discussions shared between cities and partners during the Connective Cities Dialogue Event “The Role of Rain and Storm Water Management in Water Sensitive Urban Planning”, which took place from December 6-8, 2022 in Cologne, Germany.
Water sensitive urban planning – how can heavy rain and storm water be better managed?
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.
Ideas to emulate – Sustainable urban development planning in Germany
Since 2019, the team from the Urban Planning Department of Greater Amman Municipality in Jordan has been taking part in an international dialogue process on sustainable urban planning, facilitated by Connective Cities. This has involved sharing ideas with other urban planners from around the world, and obtaining external expertise from the network for the planning of a new neighbourhood. In August 2022, an 11-member delegation travelled to Germany to conclude this process. The delegation collected numerous ideas on how to improve urban planning in Amman. Their itinerary included stops in Münster, Dortmund, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main.
The team from the Urban Planning Department was particularly interested in tips and lessons learned when drafting the German building code. This was because they were in the process of drafting such national regulations themselves. Their code, which is intended to give all parties involved – from landowners to the municipal planning departments – more legal certainty in urban and spatial planning. The Jordanian Parliament is expected to vote on the draft in 2023.
As early as 2021, the team, together with German experts, had analysed the relevant Jordanian and German legislation. They also discussed various recommendations, including how local government can simplify dealings with landowners.
This report documents the study tour in four stops and the insights gained from the perspective of the Jordanian delegation.