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Project summary
The average rise in temperature in cities due to global warming leads to local heat islands and heat risks for inhabitants. As risks will become more prevalent throughout NWE’s densely populated territories, demand for urban cooling interventions will increase substantially in the coming years.
Although city-wide heat strategies exist, there are significant differences in heat stress between individual neighbourhoods. This project focuses on countering heat risks at the hyperlocal level through a co-creation process with local stakeholders in 9 pilot-areas, selected for their fit with 3 neighbourhood typologies (inner city, green-hub and economically disadvantaged) in NL, BE, FR & LU, greening over 30.000 m2 in the public space.
Besides addressing biophysical factors, the project uniquely aims to increase the liveability of NWE neighbourhoods (health, recreation, social cohesion, aesthetics…). An integrated approach addresses the specific local determinants and impact of heat risks, as well as the relevance and added value of cooling interventions in the local context.
All partners jointly develop and implement training modules and neighbourhood action plans to mitigate heat stress and improve liveability. Detailed action plans are based on location-specific cost-benefit plans & data collected from citizen science and participatory processes. Joint design and implementation drive stakeholder support, enhancing community resilience and future ownership. A liveability index quantifies impact and allows comparison of neighbourhoods for future interventions. The 9 pilots share similar complex territorial challenges but with different contexts.
Various interventions will reach locally relevant target groups (the vulnerable, elderly, youth, SMEs, property owners, visitors). The combined results will have the greatest possible impact on heat stress reduction and its co-benefits (health, well-being, living space, biodiversity, air and soil quality..) and be widely applicable in NWE.
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