Cities and urban lifestyles are a major cause of climate change, but at the same time cities are increasingly affected by the consequences of climate change and thus increasingly by extreme events such as heat waves and heavy rainfall. The green infrastructure of public and private open spaces and buildings (e.g. parks, trees and green roofs) can contribute significantly to the adaptation of cities to climate change by providing ecosystem services such as evaporative cooling, shading and rainwater infiltration. For their planning and integration into urban development, concrete information on the required quantity and quality is required.
The Green City of the Future project presented solutions for dealing with the challenges of climate change and structural densification in growing cities in a digital results conference on 14.9.2021. Around 200 interested participants from various parts of Germany took part in the conference.
At the beginning, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer (Vice President for Innovation and Research, Technical University of Munich) and Jennifer Ritter (German Aerospace Center - DLR) gave a joint welcome address and discussed the development of innovative concepts that make a significant contribution to the sustainability of cities.
Christine Kugler (Head of Climate and Environmental Protection, City of Munich) and Michael Hardi (Head of Urban Planning, City of Munich) then spoke in their keynotes about the importance of integrating green infrastructure into urban planning at an early stage in order to adapt to climate change. Project manager Prof. Dr. Stephan Pauleit (Chair of Strategy and Management of Landscape Development, Technical University of Munich) also presented key results from the joint research project Green City of the Future [Download Slides], before central research topics were discussed in greater depth in forums. Research findings, practical experience and solution strategies were discussed in a total of three forums with the help of keynote speeches.
In Forum 1 "Strategies and measures for climate-resilient neighborhood development - their impact on the green city of the future", studies on various green and grey strategies and measures were presented. The findings ranged from ventilation, microclimate and comfort analyses to life cycle assessments. [Download Slides from Forum 1]
In Forum 2 "How we perceive and shape the green city of the future. The view of urban society, from the future to the present", the perspective of urban society was presented in the form of a journey. Stations were future visions for green, liveable neighborhoods, the importance of green for quality of stay and recreation, especially in dense and increasingly hot neighborhoods, as well as formats of activation and implementation. [Download Slides from Forum 2]
Forum 3: "On the way to the green city of the future: options for action for planning and administration" dealt with various planning instruments, relevant planning participants, conflicts of use and resources. Integration windows for climate adaptation were presented for selected formal and informal planning processes. [Download Slides from Forum 3]
The conference also looked beyond the project results to other activities and aspects of climate adaptation in growing cities. In a panel discussion, keynote speakers Christine Kugler and Michael Hardi exchanged views with Dr. Wiebke Klemm (Policy Advisor City of The Hague), Dr. Carlo Becker (landscape planning office bgmr), Prof. Dr. Werner Lang (Technical University of Munich) on the following question: "Which aspects of achieving climate resilience should be tackled first in cities, and how can citizens be involved?"
Brochures, fact sheets, a film and numerous scientific publications offer a more in-depth insight into the results of the "Green City of the Future" project.
