Category: Public space

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

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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

The Haus der Statistik

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A new district for administration, housing, social affairs and culture is being built on the large site of the former administrative building for the Federal Statistical Office – Haus der Statistik – in the center of Berlin. A civil society initiative had prevented the demolition of the existing building from the 1960s and, together with the administration and other stakeholders, developed the concept for the conversion – a beacon for alternative approaches to urban development.

Expert exchange on the interim use of public buildings

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Are you an expert in the interim use of buildings? If so, we would be delighted to welcome you to a Connective Cities expert meeting, where participants in the Connective Cities learning process ‘2nd Hands on Public Buildings’ will learn about the work of ZwischenZeitZentrale Bremen and Transiträume Berlin e.V. and discuss examples of their projects with experts in this field. The exchange of expertise will take place online on March 12, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. via WebEx (alternative date as the meeting in February was cancelled).

For ecological and, increasingly, economic reasons, the reuse or conversion of buildings from the 1960s and 1970s is of interest to municipalities and their building stock. The Connective Cities dialogue event in cooperation with the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing from 24 to 27 September 2024 was dedicated to this paradigm shift. Around 30 municipal experts from Germany, Kenya, Montenegro, the Palestinian Territories, Zambia and Ukraine exchanged views on solutions and challenges for the sustainable reuse of public buildings and jointly developed project ideas. The ongoing one-year learning process of Connective Cities on the reuse and repurposing of modernist buildings offers further insights into the topics discussed in Berlin and the opportunity to develop concrete solutions through exchange and study tours. On March 12, 2025, we will focus on the topic of ‘interim use’, which arose during the event, particularly for participants from Nairobi. All objects and project examples provided by the participants can be found in this publication.

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested: marcella.sobisch@engagement-global.de.

Deep Dive: Heat in the City

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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.

Connective Cities at WUF12

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Under the notion ‘initiate change from home: locally, together, and now’, WUF12 was convened in Cairo- Egypt on 4  – 8  November 2024. Connective Cities and its network members have organized and participated in several activities with various thematic focus areas.

As a thriving knowledge-sharing network, Connective Cities was showcased during an intellectual panel that included representatives of the Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation, VNG International, the Arab Urban Development Institute, and Metropolis. The discussion delved into examples of utilizing digital tools and innovative approaches for growth and collaborative knowledge-sharing to advance inclusive and resilient urban development on a global scale.

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

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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.

Urban Thinkers Campus in Amman, Jordan

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Connective Cities co-organized the Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) that was held for the first time in Amman-Jordan. It aimed at generating insights and discussions to inform urban policies and strategies, fostering sustainable and inclusive urban development. Topics under focus were affordable/adequate housing, green infrastructure, and sustainable mobility. With representation from Jordanian and German municipalities, the Ministry of Transportation, NGOs, and academia, the UTC served as an inclusive forum for meaningful dialogue among urban researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, aimed at fostering constructive urban change.
 

Heat in the City

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“Heat in the City” is the first Deep Dive learning project run by Connective Cities. Through the “Deep Dive” model, the Connective Cities platform allows municipalities to assign two or three staff spend two to three years as part of an international group focusing on a global issue which is relevant to cities.

2023 was the warmest year since weather records began. Heat accumulated with great intensity in cities, leading to the formation of “heat islands”. In the period from 1986 to 2005 German cities experienced twice as many days with temperatures of 30°C or more than in surrounding areas. Without wide-ranging countermeasures, this number could increase tenfold by 2100. Hot weather particularly affects vulnerable groups such as older people, children, the sick, homeless people and people who work outdoors.

From mid-2023 to mid-2025, six municipalities are joining forces for the Connective Cities “Heat in the City” Deep Dive. Together they are analysing the impacts of heatwaves and how heat islands form in their cities, and they are developing solutions tailored to local conditions. The cities involved are Lüdenscheid and Heidelberg (Germany), Aswan (Egypt), Nairobi and Mombasa (Kenya), and Lviv (Ukraine).

At a meeting in Nairobi in March 2024 the delegates undertook detailed work to identify the challenges their cities face and started developing a strategy to manage them. By the end of 2024 they aim to implement pilot projects which can be scaled up at a later date. At a third in-person workshop in Heidelberg from 3 to 6 June 2024 they expanded on their pilot projects and drafted action plans for implementing the projects.

This documentation presents the results to date in detail.

A Strategy for Climate-Sensitive Urban Development in Garowe, Somalia

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Connective Cities has supported the development of a bottom-up strategy for climate-resilient urban development, known as the Climate-Sensitive City Development Strategy (CSCD). This involved a participatory methodology for identifying and analyzing key entry points for municipal action. Garowe was the first pilot project where this methodology and the design of the CSCD strategy were tested. We are pleased to present this strategy to you here.

Connective Cities was commissioned by the GIZ project “Promotion of social and economic inclusion of extreme poor IDPs and residents of host communities in Puntland, Somalia” (SEIPP) to support the development of an integrated climate protection concept (adaptation and partial mitigation) for the city of Garowe, Puntland, Somalia. SEIPP is dedicated to promoting the socio-economic integration of extremely poor internally displaced persons and residents of host communities in Puntland, Somalia.

If you have any questions about the methodology or are interested in discussing it, please contact Paulina Koschmieder: paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

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.