Cool Cities – tackling the issue of urban heat islands
Through the Interreg North Sea Cool Cities project, Gothenburg seeks to tackle urban heat islands together with other European cities; an increasingly prevalent problem in urban areas, as we begin to feel the effects of climate change.
As a result of the climate crisis, European cities will face more floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weathers in the future. That is why we must start tackling these issues today, to ensure a climate resilient tomorrow and a more habitable city for our citizens.
What are urban heat islands?
Urban heat islands refer to the phenomenon of cities being warmer than their countryside counterparts, because of the urban infrastructures that preserve heat, like asphalt and concrete. Urban heat islands pose challenges for everyone, but particularly for the health of vulnerable citizens like old people, children and those with underlying health conditions. With all around increasing temperatures, keeping temperatures down in cities is a high priority.
Who are our partners?
As part of the Interreg North Sea Region (NSR) project Cool Cities (launched in April 2024), the City of Gothenburg will tackle the challenges posed by urban heat islands together with the cities of Arnhem, Sint Niclaas, Middelburg, Hamburg, and Rotterdam, as well as the Region du Pays de Saint-Omer, the University of applied science in Amsterdam, the University of Hamburg, and the ZEBAU organisation.
Gothenburg has a long tradition of working with water-related climate adaptation, such as cloudbursts and flooding. However, extreme heat and urban heat islands are relatively new areas for us to be working with. Here, we can learn from our partners with experience in this area because, if we are to climate-proof Gothenburg, we must step up our mitigation efforts in relation to heat.
Why has Gothenburg joined the project?
The Cool Cities project will support Gothenburg through this adaptation, as we seek to increase our knowledge about heat stress and innovative methods for how to tackle it. Gothenburg also wants to map areas sensitive to heat stress in the city, create frameworks for urban planning and suggest responses to heat stress with the help of our digital twin tool.
Specifically, we will:
- Seek to better understand how Gothenburg can approach heat stress and heat reduction; what are the prerequisites and opportunities?
- Explore the possibilities of cool islands and cool corridors as protectors from heat.
- Utilise digitalisation and Geographic Information System (GIS)-analyses as innovative methods to work with urban heat planning.
- Exchange knowledge and learn from the best practices of our partners.
Delivering towards ambitions
The project delivers in line with the city of Gothenburg’s Enviornment and Climate programme (notably the cross-sectoral strategy for a green and robust city), our forthcoming Climate Adaptation Plan (in Swedish), and build upon existing work of mapping cool islands and heat stress.
Timeline
1 JAN 2024 – 31 DEC 2027
Learn more about the project here.
Contact
Lisa EKSTRÖM (Project Leader), Stadsbyggnadsförvaltningen, lisa.ekstrom@stadsbyggnad.goteborg.se