InKlaH - Integrated adaptation concept for the city of Hagen
Project duration: 09/2015 to 08/2018
The aim of this project is to evaluate the current development of the City of Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia in its overall spatial context and regarding climate and demographic change. Based on this, an integrated action plan with concrete policy recommendations for city development, urban land-use planning, open space development and flood management will be set up. The project duration is from 1.9.2015 to 31.08.2018. As a municipal lighthouse project (German: Kommunales Leuchtturmvorhaben), it is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety to provide measures for adaptation to climate change.
Urban climatic stresses, like the expected increase in heat waves, are a great burden for an aging urban society. However, land also becomes available through demographic decline, which can be used to reduce exposure to extreme events such as flooding and flash floods and to improve climate comfort.
It is necessary to coordinate the existing approaches for dealing with demographic change, flood risk management strategies, future settlement and open space development of the City of Hagen and the intended adaptation to the changing (city) climate. The urban and regional context also plays a big part as the climatic impact of open spaces requires a coordinated settlement and open space development. In this sense, a new cooperation of the previously separated areas of climate and demographic change and flood risk management, or rather between the actors on a local and city regional level, is formed.
The integrated analysis needed for the coordination regarding climate impacts and the development of strategies are ensured through the City of Hagen as the responsible body for environmental and urban land-use planning and at the same time being the lower level water authority. On the City of Hagen’s side, the division for environmental planning of the environmental agency will oversee the project. An accompanying work group ensures the coordination with other divisions and local in-house operations of the City of Hagen. The TU Dortmund University brings its expertise in climate impact analyses and adaptation strategies via the IRPUD. The climatological analysis is undertaken by the Regionalverband Ruhr and its division of geoinformation and spatial observation, which also ensures the embedding of the integrated adaption strategy into the regional context. An extended citizen participation via citizens’ workshops on city level will take place during analysis as well as during the development of strategies and measures.
Funding-ID: 03DAS057A
Further information on funding:
Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB)