Climate Resilient Cities

The central question the IFHP Climate Resilient Cities Working Group (CRC) would like to address is how cities and regions could adapt to the effects of climate change such as: extreme storm water buffering, rising sea and water levels; or just the opposite, extreme droughts, as well as urban heat islands effects, and other climatological challenges. Climate change undoubtedly being caused by human activities that produce CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gasses, all spatial interventions must also consider the question how to contribute to the substantial reduction of these emissions. This mitigation question will be the constant consideration (more on the CRC subject).

An important challenge here is to re-mix the what and the how: not only the solutions and designs are at stake, but also how to implement these is equally important. The challenge is to bring those mixes into practice.

The CRC working group seeks to collect and bring together academic knowledge and professional know-how from around the world in order to inspire and learn. To this end, it wants to use the methods of knowledge acceleration that have been developed in IFHP working groups, offering it to the IFHP members and associated professional networks as an effective and serious service in the range of services the IFHP wants to offer. The way this is done is by exchanging experiences and through discussion and debate coming up with new ideas.

Members of the working group are given the opportunity to convene once or twice a year in an implementation lab (more on implementation labs). An implementation lab is an active case study in which topical experts from the IFHP are invited to examine a spatial problem presented by a local/regional authority. A typical implementation lab takes place over three days and results in recommendations to tackle the problem at hand. Other activities such as study trips and excursions can also be organized. Members of the working group are invited to share their ideas about interesting activities for the CRC working group.

Moreover, CRC workshops and meetings will be organised at the annual IFHP world congresses. Depending on the theme of the world congress, the CRC working group could play an integral role in content planning and contribution as well.

The International Intervision Institute will act as the implementing body of these activities (more on the II-I).