Cities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change and there is an urgent need to become more resilient. This research involves the development of the City Climate Scan methodology to measure, map, scan and assess different parameters that provide insight into the vulnerability of urban areas and neighborhoods. The research involved the development of a set of measurement tools that can be applied in different urban neighborhoods in a low-cost low-tech approach with teams of stakeholders and practitioners. The City Climate Scan method was tested in different cities around the globe with groups of young professionals and stakeholders in rapid urban appraisals.For the Rotterdam City Climate Scan (September 2017), the following challenges were selected: risk of flooding, heat stress, water quality (micro-pollutants and plastic waste) and air quality. The Rotterdam climate scan is evaluated with their triple helix partners (public, private and academic partners). The conclusion is that the City Climate Scan approach helps policy makers and practitioners to gather valuable data for decision makers in a rapid appraisal at the neighborhood and city level. The results of the City Climate Scan methodprovides insights, creates awareness and brings together stakeholders. The most valuable deliverable is the concrete and tangible results. The participatory approach brings residents and practitioners together and provides insight into local problems, while at the same time the method facilitates the collection of valuable data about the robustness of neighborhoods. As a result of this positive evaluation, the City Climate Scan will be up scaled to a number of cities in Europe and Asia in the upcoming months.
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In this study, Dutch and Australian planning regimes are examined to determine whether they are ready to face climate extremes. Five different “cultural” facets of spatial planning determine the differences between the two regimes. These planning characteristics are first confronted with current climate change. The Dutch planning regime performs better under these conditions than the Australian. Secondly, a suite of spatial scenarios is confronted with both current change and a changed risk landscape, in which climate extremes are introduced. Again, the performance of planning characteristics to deal with these new vulnerabilities is tested. For type-1 impacts, exaggerating current change, a limited number of Dutch planning characteristics still hold, where the majority of Australian planning properties is likely to lose functionality. Under type-2 impacts, surprising climate events, the Dutch approach is no longer sufficient, while some Australian characteristics suddenly imply opportunities. The sectored planning approach, together with culturally determined individual responses, might prove to offer solace, under the condition that dealing with extreme events is made priority. Overall, current regimes face difficulties in dealing with surprising climate events and a fundamentally different planning approach is required. Swarm Planning, which dynamically deals with uncertainty, is proposed as a beneficial new planning method.
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Abstract: Climate change is related with weather extremes, which may cause damages to infrastructure used by freight transport services. Heavy rainfall may lead to flooding and damage to railway lines, roads and inland waterways. Extreme drought may lead to extremely low water levels, which prevent safe navigation by inland barges. Wet and dry periods may alternate, leaving little time to repair damages. In some Western and Middle-European countries, barges have a large share in freight transport. If a main waterway is out of service, then alternatives are called for. Volume- and price-wise, trucking is not a viable alternative. Could railways be that alternative? The paper was written after the unusually long dry summer period in Europe in 2022. It deals with the question: If the Rhine, a major European waterway becomes locally inaccessible, could railways (temporarily) play a larger role in freight transport? It is a continuation of our earlier research. It contains a case study, the data of which was fed into a simulation model. The model deals with technical details like service specification route length, energy consumption and emissions. The study points to interesting rail services to keep Europe’s freight on the move. Their realization may be complex especially in terms of logistics and infrastructure, but is there an alternative?
MULTIFILE
Centre of Expertise, part of Hogeschool van Amsterdam
