Category: crisis management and disaster preparedness

Water Resilience – Preparing Municipalities for Drought and Heavy Rainfall

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Water is becoming a key challenge for an growing number  of local authorities worldwide. On the one hand, they are increasingly exposed to heatwaves and drought. But on the other hand, heavy rain and high water levels are leading to more frequent flooding. These risks come together to not only impact public health, but jeopradize private property and public infrastructure. Global water demand could significantly exceed available supplies by 2030. Water is thus becoming a strategic resource. It is therefore critical for municipalities to strengthen their water resilience.

Examining their own challenges regarding water resilience, learning from experiences on other continents and developing the courage to implement innovative ideas – all these were the ingredients of the first in-person meeting as part of the Connective Cities Deep Dive, held from 5 to 7 May 2026 in Wuppertal. The group had already met for a virtual kick-off in March 2026. In early 2026, a total of 16 experts from the German municipalities of Dresden, Wunstorf and Wuppertal, as well as from Akkaraipattu (Sri Lanka), Homa Bay (Kenya), Hyderabad (India), Natitingou (Benin) and Niš (Serbia) have started a two-year long working together to explore and analyse innovative approaches such as sponge city concepts, blue corridors and integrated blue-green-red infrastructure, and the possibilities for their implementation. On this basis, they develop and implement locally adapted solutions to address their specific challenges.

The report describes practical examples from Wuppertal and Leipzig, outlines the planned pilot projects of the six municipalities and summarises the key takeaways from the process so far.

Insight Session – Digital Twins for Risk-Informed Municipal Development

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Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2026

Time: 14:00 – 15:00 CEST

Language: English – Turkish simultaneous translation

How can digital and AI applications help municipalities become more resilient and prepared for future risks? 

 As urban areas face growing climate and infrastructure-related risks, municipalities require digital tools that support rapid emergency response, long-term risk planning, and resilient urban governance. The Insight Session will introduce participants to the concept of “Digital Twins for Risk-Informed Urban Development” through practical applications and international good practices.

Urban Digital Twinning (UDT) refers to digital representations of urban systems connected to real-time data and predictive modelling tools. Increasingly used in urban development, UDT applications support areas such as mobility management, energy monitoring, disaster preparedness, infrastructure planning, and citizen participation. Successful examples can already be found in different countries, among them Japan, Singapore, Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany.

As a practical illustration, the session will present the ongoing work of practitioners, such as from the IT department of Bağcılar Municipality in Turkey, which is currently developing an AI-supported Digital Urban Twin platform focused on disaster resilience and data-driven municipal decision-making. The project integrates LiDAR-based 3D city modelling, IoT sensor infrastructure, GIS/MIS systems, panoramic urban imaging, and AI-supported analytics within a unified municipal data ecosystem.

After the presentations, a room for discussion will allow participants to ask questions and exchange thoughts on how to include digital urban twins into planning strategies and how to further advance the use of artificial intelligence for risk-informed and sustainable municipal development.

Please register for the event on the Connective Cities Community Platform: Insight Session – Digital Twins for Risk-Informed Municipal Development | Connective Cities Network

If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact:
lennart.kreuzfeld@giz.de or paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

We look forward to the discussion!

Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure through Risk-Informed Urban Development

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Municipalities and regions from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus and Germany are invited to participate in the regional learning process “Planning for Municipal Resilience” and jointly develop approaches to protect critical infrastructure.

Municipalities are increasingly facing complex risks: climate-related extreme events, technical disruptions, growing inter-dependencies between infrastructure systems and new security challenges threaten the functioning of urban areas. Protecting critical infrastructure – energy, water, transport, communication and health – has therefore become a central task of modern local governance.

The learning process brings together municipalities from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus and Germany to exchange practical experience, develop joint solutions and strengthen local capacities for risk-informed urban development. The focus lies on integrated planning, multi-risk governance and the development of implementable project approaches to protect and strengthen critical infrastructure.

Who is the call for participation addressed to?

  • Professionals and managers from municipal administrations, municipal utilities and regional authorities
  • Staff working in planning, infrastructure, disaster risk management and municipal management
  • Cities, municipalities, districts and regions from Southeast Europe, the South Caucasus and Germany

Timeline and Format

  • Virtual kick-off meeting: End of April 2026
  • First face-to-face workshop (3 days): Beginning of June
  • Duration: approx. 1 year
  • Formats: on-site workshops, digital exchange modules and short expert missions (“peer visits”)

 

The learning process is structured in three phases:

  1. risk and vulnerability analysis,
  2. integrated planning and solution development, and
  3. implementation readiness and financing.
  4. Thematic priorities include urban systems and critical infrastructure resilience, integrated risk governance, and data, early warning and continuity management. The structured process promotes peer-to-peer learning and technical cooperation between municipalities in Europe and the partner regions.

Participation and Contact

The participation costs (accommodation and board) are covered. The conference language is English

Expression of interest deadline: 13 April 2026

Application: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/form/connective-cities-see-learning-p

Further information: Call for participation [pdf, 3 pages ]

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions:

Paulina Koschmieder – paulina.koschmieder@giz.de
Jimmy Yoedsel – jimmy.yoedsel@giz.de

Nature at the Heart of Municipal Resilience

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Connective Cities invites municipal and regional authorities from Sub-Saharan Africa and Germany to participate in a new international Learning Process on Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).

Local and regional governments are increasingly at the forefront of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. Intensifying floods, droughts, heatwaves, and land sealing are placing growing pressure on urban systems and governance capacities. Against this backdrop, Nature-Based Solutions offer a cost-effective, multi-benefit pathway to strengthen climate adaptation while also delivering mitigation co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, stormwater management, and urban heating and cooling regulation.

About the Learning Process

The one-year Learning Process will convene municipal practitioners, technical experts, and policymakers through three in-person workshops and continuous virtual collaboration. Participants will progress from problem identification to solution co-development and implementation readiness, supported by peer learning, technical input, and targeted coaching.

The process aims to:

  • Strengthen municipal and regional capacities to plan and implement NbS
  • Facilitate structured peer-to-peer learning between Sub-Saharan African and German authorities
  • Co-create actionable NbS project concepts ready for piloting, financing, or integration into planning frameworks
  • Generate knowledge products to support replication and scaling across city networks

 

Thematic Focus Areas

Participants will collaborate within demand-driven thematic working groups, including:

  1. Nature & Urban Ecosystems – Urban greening, biodiversity, de-sealing, urban forests, heat reduction
  2. Water & Sponge Cities – Flood management, river and wetland restoration, rainwater management
  3. Greening Municipal Infrastructure – Integration of green and grey infrastructure, ecological corridors, climate-adaptive mobility and energy systems

 

Timeline

  • March 2026: Virtual kick-off and insight session on Nature-Based Solutions
  • From 21 to 23 April 2026: First in-person workshop
  • October 2026: Second in-person workshop
  • January 2027: Final in-person workshop

 

 Who Can Apply

The call is open to:

  • Municipal and regional authorities from Sub-Saharan Africa
  • German municipalities and counties

Participation of two experts per authority is encouraged, with the option to involve partners from ministries, civil society, or the private sector.

 How to Apply

Interested authorities are invited to submit an Expression of Interest via the Connective Cities Community Platform:

👉 Application link:
https://community.connective-cities.net/en/form/connective-cities-ssa-learning-p

Application deadline: 30 March 2026

Contact

Online Kick-Off for Municipal Water Resilience

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24 March 2026 was the big day! The in-depth learning process “Water Resilience: Strengthening Municipalities against Drought and Heavy Rainfall Events” kicked off shortly after the World Water Day. Droughts, heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding are on the rise, putting a strain on infrastructure, public health and municipal budgets. At the same time, urbanisation is intensifying competition for water.

Many major cities are already experiencing severe water stress, and the global demand for water could significantly exceed the available supply by 2030.
Water scarcity has long been an obstacle to development for countries in the Global South, but in the future, all regions worldwide will have to adapt to fluctuating water availability and growing conflicts over its use. Water is set to become the defining strategic resource of the 21st century.

Key solutions are emerging at a local level. Although the broader circumstances vary greatly, local authorities face similar structural challenges, making exchange and collaborative learning particularly valuable.

As part of our ‘Deep Dive’ on the topic of ‘Water-Resilient Municipalities’, we are bringing together experts from eight municipalities in Benin, Germany, Kenya, India, Serbia and Sri Lanka. Over a two-year period, they will discuss innovative approaches, such as sponge city concepts, blue corridors and integrated blue-green-red infrastructure, and develop and implement locally tailored solutions to their respective challenges.

During the initial virtual meeting, the municipalities presented their local challenges, identified initial similarities, and prepared for the first in-person working meeting in Wuppertal in early May. Further updates from our ‘Deep Dive’ project will follow from May 2026.

The participating cities are: Natitingou (Benin), Dresden, Wunstorf and Wuppertal (Germany), Homa Bay (Kenya), Hyderabad (India), Niš (Serbia) and Akkaraipattu (Sri Lanka).

Green Corridors in the city and its surroundings

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Kick-off Event: 7th – 9th April 2026 (TBC) in Egypt

Local authorities in Germany, North Africa, and the Middle East face similar challenges in the face of climate change. They are called upon to translate general strategies for climate change adaptation and climate protection into concrete local measures. One option is to develop green corridors – e.g., as green walkways in city centers or as green corridors in the surrounding areas and new neighborhoods. These enable improved fresh air supply, quality of life, and more efficient water management. Green corridors can also be used for local recreation and heat protection in municipalities.

Against this backdrop, Connective Cities offers experts from local governments in Gemany, North Africa and Middle East the opportunity to develop concrete solutions for their own contexts and exchange ideas with each other as part of a one-year learning process.

Main areas of Work

The structured learning process will focus on:

  1. Green corridors as fresh air corridors between cities and their surrounding areas
  2. Green paths in cities and old city centers
  3. Green new and existing neighborhoods

 

The methodology

The learning process follows a modular approach with the following objectives:

  1. Supporting participating municipalities in developing solutions through peer learning and tailored technical advice to promote green corridor solutions.
  2. Developing the participants’ skills so that they are better able to implement organizational changes and improve procedures and methods in their own municipalities.
  3. Supporting participating municipalities in their methodological approach and the development of financially viable solutions.

 

As part of the learning process, best practices for green corridors and climate-friendly urban planning will be presented. Participating municipalities will engage in peer learning with others to develop concrete solutions for their individual contexts. These solutions can bring about organizational changes to improve procedures, methods, and data availability, as well as the concrete implementation of pilot measures.

Using a co-creative approach, participants will be involved in a structured creative problem-solving process. This includes

  1. observing and understanding current municipal practices to identify challenges and gaps,
  2. brainstorming and developing concrete solutions, and
  3. testing the solutions with a group of stakeholders, including citizens and experts, to obtain feedback.

 

Duration

The learning process will span a period of one year, beginning with a kick-off workshop in Egypt in April 2026. A total of two German and approximately 10 municipalities from the MENA region will participate in the learning process.

Participation and contact

We are looking for experts from local governments in Gemany, North Africa and Middle East (district offices, city administrations, municipal companies, etc.) who can contribute a project or idea for a solution for green corridors to the learning process. Ideally, two experts from one municipality will apply and be able to anchor the change process in the administration in the long term. The participation costs (accommodation and board) are covered. The conference language is English and French.

If you are interested in the learning process, please apply by February 20, 2026, via this link: Learning process MENA Green Corridors 2026/2027 | Connective Cities Network stating your municipality, position, and the project/challenge in the area of green corridors.

If you have any questions, please contact jelena.karamatijevic@giz.de

Further information about: Connective Cities’ learning processes

Water resilience – Municipalities strengthen themselves against drought and heavy rainfall events

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Local authorities face challenges due to climate change and soil sealing, with frequent droughts, floods, and heavy rainfall. Ensuring water supply, preserving green spaces, and preventing damage can be addressed through nature-based and structural measures. Approaches like the sponge city principle, unsealing urban areas, and installing retention basins are becoming central to climate adaptation strategies. In Germany and the Global South, innovative solutions are emerging. Connective Cities therefore offers an in-depth learning process on this topical and highly relevant subject.

Connective Cities is launching an international call for applications for its new Deep Dive. It will begin in early 2026 and will run until 2027, depending on the funding allocated. The Deep Dive is a recent format from connective cities, the platform for sustainable urban development that brings together up to five municipalities from the Global South and three German municipalities, which are invited to work together to develop a locally adapted solution that responds to a current challenge.

To participate in this Deep Dive, please send us your completed expression of interest before 5 January 2026.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Further information

Call for participants [pdf, 242 kb]

Expression of Interest [doc, 476 kb]

The conference language is English.

Contact

If you have any questions about the Connective Cities Deep Dive and your participation, please feel free to contact us:

Sibylle Loyeau
E-Mail: sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de
Phone: +49 (0)228-20717-2587

Cities Leading by Example

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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.