Dear Readers,
we look back on a challenging year 2022. Shortly after the Corona pandemic had lost its greatest threat due to more accessible vaccines and milder virus types, Russia started its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. This dramatically exacerbated the emerging energy and food crises. Moreover, the consequences of climate change were becoming increasingly visible, with new negative records: heat waves and persistent drought in India, Pakistan, China, Central and Southern Europe with devastating forest fires, even more severe droughts at the Horn of Africa leaving over 20 million people hungry, extensive flooding in Pakistan, Australia and South Africa, glacial melting and sea level rising, and violent hurricanes in the northern hemisphere.
We have addressed these challenges as best we can. In the Connective Cities and Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management joint working group "Risk-Informed Urban Development in Sub-Saharan Africa" participating cities are working together to be better prepared for weather extremes. Her work was also presented at the UCLG World Congress in Daejeon.
We have continuously documented processes of change and good practices, which have emerged from our events - also in video form. They show how municipalities are jointly pushing forward climate-friendly, more equitable and resilient urban development, how risk management and crisis communication succeed, and how modern energy efficiency, digitalization, mobility and waste management concepts get implemented. Three practices are featured in this newsletter.
Furthermore, a new learning process on "Action for Cooler Cities: Ways to Reduce Carbon in Buildings and Improve Outdoor Thermal Comfort" successfully kicked off this month. 35 experts from 27 municipalities and 10 countries are already involved.
Together with the German Association of Cities, we are supporting 30 German cities in providing aid supplies to their Ukrainian partner municipalities. The aim is to provide the Ukrainian people with the most basic necessities this winter in an unbureaucratic way.
As the year is coming to an end, we wish you a peaceful holiday season. We look forward to joining forces with you again in 2023.
Your Connective Cities Team
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