Category: crisis management and disaster preparedness

Cities Leading by Example

Posted on by burkhard

Cities play a dual role in climate change—they are both major contributors to it and highly vulnerable to its impacts. This dynamic creates a feedback loop that exacerbates urban challenges, where urban contributions to climate change worsen the very risks that urban centers face. As cities worldwide experience the impacts of climate change including rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves, the need for proactive, risk-informed planning has never been more urgent.

Cities Leading by Example: A Guidebook on Risk-Informed Planning and Heat Mitigation serves as a practical guide for municipal actors, urban planners, policymakers, and community leaders seeking to adopt risk-informed approach and to integrate heat adaptation into their planning processes. Drawing on practice-oriented examples, this guidebook delves into city experiences in devising policies and strategies, optimizing the institutional set-up and steering structures, pursuing effective communication and public engagement as well as utilising evidence-based planning using climate data.

From Risk to Resilience: Building Inclusive Urban Futures in West Africa

Posted on by burkhard

This was the central question that brought together urban risk experts, local leaders, and community representatives from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo to continue the workshop series on “Risk-Informed Urban Development in West Africa and the ECOWAS Region”.

The 2nd workshop took place from 02-04 July in Accra, Ghana. This workshop was jointly organised by the German Projects Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), Connective Cities, and CIVIC and in cooperation with the African Union and the ECOWAS Commission.

The Workshop Series

West Africa is facing growing challenges due to climate change and rapid urbanisation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts temperature increases of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, which has already led to a 25% rise in climate-related extreme events between 2011 and 2021. These shifts threaten water resources, biodiversity, food security, and public health. Additionally, the urban population is expected to double by 2050 across Africa, exacerbating the risks associated with rapid urbanisation, particularly in informal settlements. Climate-related disasters could cost the region between 1.5% and 3% of GDP annually by 2030, making investments in urban resilience vital for protecting infrastructure, livelihoods, and promoting sustainable economic growth.

 

Die Panelist*innen sitzen im offenen Halbkreis auf der Bühne
Panelists from left to right – Isabel Njihia (UNDRR), Mr. Cédric Dzelu, Technical Advisor to the Minister, Ministry for Climate Change and Sustainability, Ghana, Dr. Emmanuel Osuteye, AUC, Mrs. Beatrice Owusu-Appiah, Planner, City of Accra, Mr. Assouhan Jonas Atchade, ECOWAS Secretariat | Photo: GIZ – Resilience Initiative Africa

To address these challenges, RIA and Connective Cities have launched the workshop series on “Risk-Informed Urban Development in West Africa and the ECOWAS Region”. The goal of the workshop series is to provide urban actors in the region with the tools and knowledge needed to manage urban risks while fostering collaboration through peer learning and exchange. The workshop series supports 12 cities from West Africa in preparing bankable project ideas to address the risks faced in their cities and strengthening the capacities of the participating urban practitioners in enhancing urban resilience.

Workshop 2 – Inclusivity and Participatory Risk Assessments

Presentation by Dr. Benjamin Creutzfeldt, City of Berlin on New impulse for municipal urban pluvial risk management: map-ping the impacts of heavy rain on various elements at risk | Photo: GIZ – Resilience Initiative Africa

After the kick-off workshop in Lomé, Togo, the 2nd workshop took place in Accra, Ghana from 2 to 4 July. Over three days, participants gained insights into participatory risk assessments and inclusivity concepts. They were provided with concrete tools and approaches on how to integrate these concepts in their urban planning work to tackle Risk-Informed Urban Development. Experts in urban planning, as well as representatives from the African Union and ECOWAS, and civil society, shared their experiences and provided a range of perspectives, from continental to local-level approaches.

The workshop was completed through the continued peer-advisory sessions where cities presented their concrete challenges in the elaboration of their project idea that they started since workshop 1 and received practical advice from other participating cities.

 

The Ga Mashie Participatory Slum Upgrading Project | Photo: GIZ – Resilience Initaitive Africa
The Recycling Hub at the Bubuashie Cable and Wireless. | Photo: GIZ – Resilience Initiative Africa

On the third day of the workshop, participants visited two sites in Accra that linked to the topic of participatory risk assessment and inclusivity: The Ga Mashie Participatory Slum Upgrading Project and the Recycling Hub at the Bubuashie Cable and Wireless. The site visits were co-organised by the City of Accra and Slum Dwellers International.

Next steps

The series of workshops will continue to provide local governments, urban planners, and communities with the knowledge and tools needed to make risk-informed decisions in urban planning and management. The next workshop is scheduled for October 2025, focusing on access to finance and the development of action plans.

Die Teilnehmenden stehen zusammen vor dem Konferenzgebäude
Group photo of participants | Photo: GIZ – Resilience Initiative Africa

Author: Franziska Loibl, GIZ

 

 

Risk informed urban development in Western Africa and the ECOWAS region

Posted on by erik

The Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), in partnership with Connective Cities is implementing a series of workshops aimed at bolstering urban resilience.

Workshop Timeline:

  1. Workshop 1: Introduction to Risk-Informed Urban Development (February 2025, Togo)
  2. Workshop 2: Participatory Risk Analysis and Financing Preparedness (April/May 2025)
  3. Workshop 3: Action Plan Development for Inclusive Disaster Risk Management (September/October 2025)

Building on the success and outcomes of the first workshop in the series on strengthening risk-informed urban development in West Africa and the ECOWAS region—held in Lomé, Togo from March 18 to 20, 2025—the second installment will take place in Accra, Ghana from July 2 to 4, 2025.

The workshop in Lomé focused on establishing an exchange network by bringing together peers from 12 cities across the region, along with representatives from the ECOWAS Secretariat and the African Union Commission, to engage in in-depth technical discussions on strengthening risk-informed urban development and identifying project ideas to address resilience challenges.

Building on the foundations of the peer exchange platform established in Lomé, the upcoming workshop in Accra will continue the technical exchanges on project idea development, with a particular emphasis on inclusion and participatory risk analysis to ensure a whole-of-society approach where no one is left behind.

We look forward to a successful workshop in Ghana, and will share the updates on our Connective Cities platform.

International municipal cooperation to mitigate heat in cities

Posted on by erik

On 12 June 2025, the working group of the Deep Dive “Heat in the City” gathered online to wrap up their two years long collaboration on the topic of heat islands in the cities. Each city presented their pilot projects in depth to an audience of experts from Germany and the Global South.

The format

The Deep Dive format enables medium-term, intensive collaboration among a small group of municipalities over two years to develop concrete urban solutions through expert exchange and co-creation. Learn more about the format here.

Deep Dive “Heat in the city”

In this first edition of Connective Cities Deep Dive, the cities of Aswan (Egypt), Heidelberg (Germany), Lüdenscheid (Germany), Lviv (Ukraine), Nairobi (Kenya) and Mombasa (Kenya) worked together online and in person, in order to understand their respective challenges, exchange ideas, and scientific procedures. The group was supported by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in the assessment of urban heat islands (UHI) in the city and development of locally-adapted solutions. Through the involvement of their local administrations, they implemented their pilot projects that incorporated procedural and organizational measures to mitigate heat in their cities. Learn more about each step of the Deep Dive here.

The six pilot projects

Each city piloted heat mitigation solutions tailored to their local contexts, focusing on data-driven, community-based, and cross-sectoral approaches. Nairobi planted shade fruit trees in schools and trained staff and students in thermal monitoring, while planning an open-access heat map for community awareness raising about the UHI. Lviv created pocket-parks and monitored their cooling effects, despite facing implementation challenges like martial law and funding gaps. In Lüdenscheid, a heat action plan was developed through interdepartmental collaboration, including initiatives like refill stations, awareness brochures, and a city cooling map. Aswan developed a comprehensive heat action framework using both local knowledge and international practices, selecting a pilot area for pedestrian-friendly, shaded public space transformation. Mombasa focused on stakeholder awareness and urban heat mapping, while Heidelberg introduced a high-precision urban climate analysis and a climate scanner to make urban planning more climate-friendly, better account for local microclimates, and thereby sustainably enhance quality of life and climate resilience. Learn more about the projects here.

Conclusions

All members of the working group agreed that the Deep Dive “Heat in the City” contributed with a broader impact in the six cities, not only by the development of climate mitigation strategies, but also in the perspective of tighter collaboration among local institutions and a strong feeling of global affiliation.

The municipal experts exchange has led to a stronger sense of community, co-creation, leadership skills, and ownership. As they explored how green activities could be linked to green jobs, international exchanges helped emphasize the urgency of finding solutions. These exchanges made decision-makers and the public more aware and underscored the need for immediate action.

The Deep Dive required a readjustment of their thinking and viewpoints, prompting them to reassess their own methods. They often had to justify working internationally while operations were still local, which helped them adopt a broader perspective on issues such as UHI. The exchange platform gave them also visibility and recognition, which in turn helped influence decision-makers. Despite challenging circumstances such as the war in Ukraine, people became more sensitised—highlighting that the right moment for action is now.

Finally, the working group noticed a growing sense of long-term awareness. There was a shift from seeking immediate results to focusing on long-term planning for resilience and achieving environmental goals. By learning from international successes and failures, they could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our local processes.

Even if the Deep Dive has ended, the implemented projects are still ongoing and the six cities are better prepared to face heat waves now.

For more information, please contact:

Sibylle Loyeau, Sibylle.loxeau@engagement-global.de

Dr. Ing. Muna Shalan, muna.shalan@giz.de

Results of the Connective Cities Deep Dive process ‘Heat in the city’

Posted on by erik

How does your city deal with increasing heat? What can you do to protect the urban population from the impacts of heat burden in cities?

We would like to invite you to learn from the intensive exchange of expertise between the cities of Aswan in Egypt, Heidelberg and Lüdenscheid in Germany, Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya and Lviv in Ukraine. The experts jointly identified and analysed challenges and developed locally-adapted solutions in the form of pilots that were implemented in their respective cities. We would like to present and discuss the results of the two-year deep dive process ‘Heat in the city’ on 12 June 2025, from 9:00 – 12:00 am:

You will have the opportunity to ‘dive’ into the projects and understand which key elements are important for successful implementation and upscaling in the future. In Lüdenscheid, efforts began with forming a multi-departmental core team to guide the development of a comprehensive heat action plan tailored to the city’s needs. Meanwhile, in Aswan, an integrated heat action framework was developed to address the unique challenges of the region’s hot climate. In Mombasa, initiatives focused on raising awareness and mapping urban heat island hotspots to inform better both stakeholders and citizens. Similarly, in Nairobi, schools became the focus of heat mitigation efforts, using temperature data to guide the strategic planting of shade-providing fruit trees, complemented by awareness programs aimed at students and educators. Meanwhile in Lviv, the participatory initiative of pocket parks was successfully launched in three different sites. Heidelberg is planning both to create a climatological database for all public spaces and outdoor areas and to develop up to three best practice examples for urban heat mitigation in public spaces.

The event is aimed at municipal experts from Germany and around the world as well as at potential donors and financial institutions who may be interested in supporting the projects. We look forward to welcoming you!

The working language of the event is English. In order to attend the meeting, subscribe here.

For more information, please contact Sibylle Loyeau sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de

Deep Dive: Heat in the City

Posted on by erik

The Deep Dive celebrated another milestone in the two year long process, with the latest workshop being held in Aswan – Egypt from 21st to 23rd January 2025. The workshop marked the transition from the phase of piloting of solutions towards optimization and upscaling. Participants representing the cities of Nairobi, Aswan, Mombasa, Lüdenscheid, Heidelberg and Lviv (virtually) discussed the results of implementing their pilots. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to learn about projects and initiatives implemented in Aswan governorate that are relevant to sustainable urban development and urban climate action.

Program

The workshop activities were carried out over three days, and included peer advisory activities, presentations and a technical input from Prof. Jürgen Kropp from the  Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in addition to an excursion in Aswan. A series of peer-to-peer exchanges between the participants who are working in different local conditions was facilitated.  During the first day, the participants discussed their key learnings from the implementation of their pilots and elaborated on the measures taken to ensure co-creation with relevant stakeholders and the sustainability of the pilots’ results. Furthermore, a keynote from the deputy governor of Aswan, Mr. Amr Lashin, shed light on efforts to transition towards human-centric urban development in the governorate. The introduction also included a presentation from UDF’s general manager for international cooperation and community participation, Dr. Marwa Soliman, which delved into the role of the Urban Development Fund (UDF) and its numerous projects on integrated urban development and urban climate action.

This was followed on the second day by a series of exercises that guided the participants into identifying areas for optimization in their pilots and methods for upscaling including 1) standardization of design and replication, 2)planning  incremental upscaling, 3) financial and human resources allocation,  4) redefining the anticipated risks given the wider scale of implementation, and 5) monitoring of progress including the definition of key performance indicators.

The final day incorporated a session on reflections from the participants on their experiences throughout the implemented stages of the Deep Dive in addition to a hybrid session with Prof. Kropp, who addressed their questions on various technical topics including 1) using artificial intelligence in climate research and devising of solutions, 2) channeling climate finance to implement measures for mitigation of urban heat, 3) existing affordable solutions that are of high impact, 4) cities and local governments position in international climate talks such as the COP29, and 5) building climate-resilient health systems. These topics will be the focus of a series of virtual sessions that will be held in the upcoming months with Prof. Kropp and PIK.

Call for Interest: Risk-Informed Urban Development Workshops in the ECOWAS Region

Posted on by erik

Voir version française ci-dessous

The Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), in partnership with Connective Cities, invites cities and civil society organizations in the ECOWAS region to participate in a workshop series on Risk-Informed Urban Development. This initiative aims to strengthen urban resilience and disaster risk management by fostering knowledge sharing, cooperation, and innovative approaches.

Key Highlights:

  • Risk-Informed Urban Development: Build local capacities to manage urban risks.
  • Knowledge Exchange: Promote peer learning between west African and European cities.
  • Inclusive Planning: Collaborate with residents of informal settlements, women, and youth groups, among others.
  • Bankable Solutions: Develop integrated approaches that combine adaptation and mitigation measures for sustainable financing.

Workshop Timeline:

  1. Workshop 1: Introduction to Risk-Informed Urban Development (February 2025, Togo)
  2. Workshop 2: Participatory Risk Analysis and Financing Preparedness (April/May 2025)
  3. Workshop 3: Action Plan Development for Inclusive Disaster Risk Management (September/October 2025)

Apply now:

Cities are invited to submit their applications by 12 January 2025.

Further information can be found in Invitation to an Expression of Interest

Contact:

RIA@giz.de and jelena.karamatijevic@giz.de

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Appel à Manifestation d’Intérêt : Ateliers sur le Développement Urbain Tenant Compte des Risques dans la Région CEDEAO

L’Initiative pour la Résilience en Afrique (RIA), en partenariat avec Connective Cities, invite les villes et organisations de la société civile de la région CEDEAO à participer à une série d’ateliers sur le développement urbain tenant compte des risques. Cette initiative vise à renforcer la résilience urbaine et la gestion des risques de catastrophe grâce à des échanges de connaissances, à la coopération et à des approches innovantes.

Points Forts :

  • Développement Urbain Tenant Compte des Risques : Renforcer les capacités locales pour gérer les risques urbains.
  • Échange de Connaissances : Favoriser l’apprentissage mutuel entre les villes africaines et européennes.
  • Planification Inclusive : Collaborer avec les habitants des quartiers informels, les groupes de femmes et de jeunes, entre autres.
  • Solutions Bancables : Développer des approches intégrées combinant adaptation et atténuation pour un financement durable.

Calendrier des Ateliers :

  1. Atelier 1 : Introduction au Développement Urbain Tenant Compte des Risques (février 2025, Togo)
  2. Atelier 2 : Analyses Participatives des Risques et Préparation au Financement (avril/mai 2025)
  3. Atelier 3 : Élaboration de Plans d’Action pour une Gestion Inclusive des Risques de Catastrophe (Septembre/Octobre 2025)

Posez votre candidature dès maintenant:

Les villes sont invitées à soumettre leur candidature avant le 12 janvier 2025.

Pour plus d’informations, voir Invitation à une expression d’intérêt.

Contact :

RIA@giz.de et jekena.karamatijevic@giz.de .

Handing Over Ceremony for the Climate-Sensitive City Development Strategy for Garowe

Posted on by erik

On September 25, 2024, the Garowe Municipality officially received the Climate-Sensitive City Development Strategy (CSCD), developed in collaboration with GIZ and the RACCA Working Group. This strategy offers practical solutions to pressing climate challenges in areas such as mobility, waste management, water resources, and green spaces.

Event Highlights:

  • Presentation of key sectors for climate-friendly urban development in Garowe.
  • Discussion on sustainable measures to improve urban infrastructure.
  • Formal handover of the strategy plan to the municipality, promoting the implementation of climate-friendly projects in Garowe.
  • Expert exchanges and collaborative discussions aimed at ensuring a resilient future for the city.

The ceremony marked the transition from planning to implementation, empowering Garowe in its efforts to become a sustainable and climate-resilient city.

We invite you to read the full publication and documentation of the event to explore the insights and strategies discussed in detail.

Disaster management and fire services in Polokwane

Posted on by erik

The South African municipality of Polokwane is regularly affected by urban flash floods, causing severe damage to municipal infrastructure. Phuti Kabe, Manager of Disaster Management and Fire Services, explains in this Good Practice how an interdisciplinary team managed the flood damage and secured emergency funding.