How to cool off the city

Description

Abstract - How to cool off the city – applied research on heat resilient cities in the Netherlands
According to the Dutch Delta Programme, every new development in the Netherlands should be climate proof to become climate resilient and water robust by 2050. Part of this concerns heat-resilient urban planning to reduce the impacts of more frequent and intense heat events. Although rising temperatures, urban heat, its causes and consequences, and potential adaptation measures have been extensively studied by scientists all over the world, the understanding of this problem among urban professionals is still limited. Local and also national governments are struggling with defining the urgency and finding the right arguments for adaptation to heat. Also questions asked by municipality officers often differ from those asked (and answered) by scientists: How do you define “heat stress”? What are the best adaptation measures for our city? How do we know we have reached “heat resilience”? The aim of our applied research is to bring the current knowledge on urban heat adaptation to practice. In this colloquium, I will present research on practical tools (such as maps, instrument measures, visualizations, design guidelines) that help Dutch cities to put heat resilience into practice.

Period	15 Nov 2022
Held at	Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands
Degree of Recognition	Local