Welcome to the ECOCITY 2022 Interactive Programme

Abstract Body

As growing urbanisation is challenging the way we live and interact with the natural environment, Eurisy launched an initiative to promote the use of satellite applications to make our cities healthier, cleaner, safer, and more efficient. The initiative aims to foster the exchange of expertise and know-how among city managers, SMEs and stakeholders; identify challenges to access and use satellite data and signals; and make recommendations to service providers, space agencies and policy-makers on how to facilitate the use of such data in cities.

Satellite imagery is already employed in cities, e.g. to identify urban heat islands, to make predictions about the impact of different traffic scenarios on air quality and to intervene on areas where construction materials retain too much heat. Satellite navigation is crucial in providing real-time information on public transport and numerous apps rely today on satellite navigation signals, e.g. to help persons with disabilities in their daily movements. Satellite communication is also used in cities, e.g. to connect rescue teams when other connections are down, or to perform health checks in public spaces.

Despite several satellite-based services have already proved their added-value in fostering cities' efficiency, resilience and sustainability, there is still a lack of awareness among public administrations about the existence of such services, and in particular about the use of satellite Earth observation. This highlights the need to better communicate about the existence of satellite applications and their potential uses, not only to audiences with an interest towards ICTs, but also to the general public and to local administrations, avoiding technical jargon.

The key to turn innovation into operation is to focus on needs. This means that, on the one hand, service providers need to learn about the priorities and needs of city departments. On the other hand, public administrations need to understand what parameters satellites can monitor, at what resolution and how often, and need to be aware of the time and resources they are expected to invest.

Abstract Body

Addressing climate change adaptation in urban areas is increasingly urgent and requires fundamental transformations of supply infrastructures such as transport and mobility, electricity and water supply, or telecommunication as well as an improved understanding of the interactions of these critical infrastructures. Practical experiences show, that in general there is an awareness of these interconnections, but for example emergency plans often fall short regarding the growing indirect influences of climate change on infrastructural failures expected in the future. Therefore, there is also a growing need for research and systemic approaches to overcome this isolated sectoral view of climate change impacts to gain a holistic understanding of the critical infrastructure networks.

Against this background, the paper highlights the relevance of climate change impacts on critical infrastructures, infrastructure interdependencies and potential cascading effects. The analysis uses a system dynamics approach that has been applied within a case-study for the metropolitan area of Hamburg, Germany. It is based on transdisciplinary research methods, connecting the realms of scientific knowledge about regional climate change with real-world experiences. Thereby specifically a participatory approach – e.g. using a stakeholder mapping process, interviews, group model building techniques, workshops and impact matrices – has been carried out with key stakeholders from different sectors to identify climate-related drivers causing the most severe failures and losses in the system – either directly in the same sector or indirectly due to breakdowns in other sectors.

By this hands-on deep dive into the topic – also addressing key aspects of the “Agenda 2030” and the “New Leipzig Charter” – the paper presents valuable practical insights regarding the specific relevance of cascading effects for the sectors energy, water and transport. Thereby it introduces the topic of adaptation to climate change as a starting point for a better understanding and management of systemic risks in order to build and maintain a resilient mobility infrastructure and to make cities and settlements safe, resilient and sustainable.

Abstract Body

There are many environmental and socio-economic issues that face African settlements, especially the big cities. The study aims to identify the highly exposed cities to sea level rise (SLR) impacts to recommend suitable adaptation strategies. The exposure analysis is based on some characteristics of every city; population, area, density, elevation, and importance. Due to high changes in global climate and social circumstances accordingly, there are twenty-four million-cities in the coastal zone (from the shoreline to +20 above sea) of Africa are exposed to SLR threats (i.e. coastal flooding, erosion, storms, saltwater intrusion). The strategic spatial planning of these cities should have a group of selected SR adaptation strategies that appropriate to the circumstances of every city. This process is an essential part of an integrated framework to support their resilience against different SLR threats. Furthermore, proactive adaptation is economical and effective than reactive adaptation. Accommodation strategy is very urgent to redesign the building and the infrastructure to adapt to the raised SLR rate by the precise supervision of local authorities. Protection strategy is required for high-density areas, the hard works could be used in front of severe waves, while soft works could be used in high tides or weak waves that create wide and eco-beaches. Avoid strategy or do nothing is an appropriate strategy for the highly exposed open-spaces. Retreat strategy could be used when the cost of protection is higher than the value of the assets. All of the adaptation work is shared between the social and governmental parts. The developers and designers are well trained and aware of all changes. Moreover, it should do a frequent reassessment of SLR hazards every seven years to be updated with changes.

Abstract Body

This study elaborates on an ontological, theoretical, epistemological, methodological and analytical design research framework for the possibility of an operative synthesis of, on the one hand, climate-related risk management (primarily, flood exposure from multiple sources, i.e. sea level rise and coastal/tidal flooding, fluvial flooding and pluvial flooding) and, on the other, the planning and design of operational landscapes of material production, as a means for sustainable landscape ecological development. To properly address climate-related risk one has to, also, address unsustainable patterns of material production and the physical and functional organization of urbanization. Following the development of the concepts of “concentrated” and “extended urbanization” through gradients of “agglomeration” and “operational landscapes”, and in contrast to the predominant approach of placing the emphasis on the agglomeration side, this work attempts the opposite: shifting the analytical centrality from agglomerations to the operational landscapes that sustain them, we are able to formulate an urbanization hypothesis where, it is, thus, suggested, an incorporation of biophysical processes and ecosystem functions (central to the performance of operational landscapes) within an urbanized landscape would, at the same time, offer climate-related performance. This is structured around an inquiry for a different landscape composition and configuration. Said landscape image is grounded upon the repurposing of its constituent elements as spaces of productive nature (here: forestry, cropland and/or pasture). The methodological issue that is tackled is the manner through which this repurposing has to be designed/planned so that the resulting landscape performs for water-sensitivity, addressing the different forms of risk from exposure to various flood-related hazards. The research suggests the correlation between landscape composition and configuration with the parameters of the landscape that influence water-regulation and flood-risk management (that is, on one hand, geomorphology, geology, surface hydrography, hydrology, and on the other, the structure of the system of open space and the land-use/land-cover pattern of the landscape), towards a specific organization of productive green spaces in such a way so that they could provide water-sensitive performance as flood-related risk landscape infrastructure.

Abstract Body

Climate change has far-reaching implications for economic and social stability, including loss of services and security, affecting quality and quantity of lives. Heat waves are among potential hazards expected to increase with climate change, affecting human lives and economies. Here, I will identify countries that are most at risk for heat waves due to siting of highest density populations in warmer locations than exurban populations. Conversely, countries with highest density populations in cooler locations may help offset the urban heat island effect. I will demonstrate the trajectory of warming temperatures in different population densities under the mildest expected temperature increase during 2021-2040 and Shared Socio-economic Pathway 1-2.6, and the greatest expected temperature increase during 2081-2100 and Shared Socio-economic Pathway 5-8.5. Temperature and temperature change of high-density population siting have consequences for landscape-based regional urban development and climate adaptation, adaptive urban landscape planning and design, resilient communities, critical infrastructure and extreme events, emergency preparedness and response, and also may influence which countries may have the greatest migration in response to climate change.

Abstract Body

Traditionally, Bangladesh is home to a vast agrarian community. The vernacular agricultural systems of native riverine Bangladesh have shaped the characteristic features of her cultural landscapes. To a large extent, these romantic landscapes as well as the natural beauty and diversity of traditional Bangladeshi villages, come from the plentiful measures of producing food. Contrary to the green refuge offered by the countryside, the drastic urban settlements of Bangladesh convey a sense of acute congestion, pollution, insecurity, and increased tension. An obvious example for this could be the megacity of Dhaka. The city’s decaying and dispersed green and blue patches are proof enough that the city never had a planned green-blue infrastructure. Therefore, very few city dwellers have adequate access to green and healthy public realms, not to mention the increasing loss of ecology and biodiversity.

Dwelling in such an overburdened metropolis, the urban population have almost forgotten their ancestral practices of producing and become entirely focused on a mechanized urban living based upon the act of consuming. To ensure a healthier living environment with more outdoor activities for the city dwellers, the city needs to fill the gaps in its green infrastructure. One of the socio-economically as well as spatially viable ways of achieving that could be the retrieval of the native practice of food production. In recent times, community gardening and foodscapes have become a popular urban culture in many cities worldwide. Mapping some sample streets of Dhaka, few such spontaneous practices are noticed. Therefore, in the scope of this research, appropriate urban foodscape ideas would be proposed in a case study area as part of Dhaka’s future green infrastructure. The cultural landscape of Bangladesh as well as contemporary urban foodscapes from around the world may provide valuable design principles for Dhaka’s foodscape. Keeping Dhaka's dire spatial inadequacy in mind, the point to be explored here, is how the essence of this impulsive native practice of the Bangladeshi people can help attain a healthier living environment ensuring a balance between ecology, economy and social participation.