Session description - Resilient Cities 2015
Transcription
Session description - Resilient Cities 2015
SESSION DESCRIPTION E3 Green and gray infrastructure solutions for enhancing resilience to urban flooding Workshop Date: Tuesday, 9 June, 2015 Time: 16:45-18:15 Rooms: S34-35 Language: Contact: E-mail/web: Organized by: English Maija Bertule [email protected] / www.dhigroup.com ICLEI and UNEP-DHI OBJECTIVE Climate change impacts, as well as the related ecosystems responses, bear a high level of uncertainty often making it challenging for decision-makers to define the ‘right’ choices. Planning for and building future infrastructure that can adapt, and secure resilience to the growing populations in the light of climate change is essential for the development of sustainable urban communities and the human wellbeing. This workshop focused on ways and means to arrive at rational decisions on green infrastructure solutions for resilient urban water systems, with a specific focus on managing urban flooding. Participants learned about different criteria to assess green - or gray-green – infrastructure solutions, practical tools for science-based decision-making under uncertainty and real-life opportunities and challenges experienced in green infrastructure planning and implementation. The session demonstrated its approach with two city case studies and reflected on useful tools for quantifying green infrastructure and saving costs in urban flood protection. The city of Essen shared its experience in planning and implementing green infrastructure solutions and discussed related challenges and opportunities along the way. Ample time was also given for group discussion to identify and share additional experiences from the audience. OUTCOMES Participants left the workshop session with: Awareness on specific potential and benefits of selected green infrastructure solutions to address climate change impacts in an urban context; Awareness on available tools to support science-based decision-making for green and hybrid (green-gray) infrastructure solutions in the face of uncertainty, including cost-benefit analysis; Inspiration from participating city “case study” representatives on what kind of green infrastructure solutions – including combinations of green and gray solutions – was useful for them and why. METHODOLOGY Facilitator Alice Reil, Officer, Sustainable Resources, Climate and Resilience, ICLEI European Secretariat, Freiburg, Germany 16:45 – 16:50 The facilitator will make opening remarks and briefly introduce the program 16:50 – 17:05 Tools to support the decision-making processes in application of green (-gray) solutions Maija Bertule, Program Advisor, UNEP-DHI Partnership Denmark 17:05– 17:20 Integrating natural infrastructure into urban coastal resilience: Howard Beach, Queens, New York, United States Joel Paque, Policy Advisor, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, United States This presentation demonstrated how natural defenses, in conjunction with built infrastructure, can help protect communities from the impacts of climate change. The case study presented was focused on neighborhood scale protection alternatives and offers a robust methodology that could be replicated and applied to other coastal communities to evaluate the efficacy and relative costs and benefits of potential coastal resilience strategies, utilizing both natural and built infrastructure. 17:20 – 17:35 Essen: A green city of North-Rhine Westphalia Thomas Kleinebrahm, Officer, Environmental Agency, City of Essen, Germany; and Kai Lipsius, Manager of Climate Protection, Environmental Agency, City of Essen Green-blue infrastructure is the motor for Essen’s sustainable urban development. Between 2007 and 2014, more than € 50 million were invested in green-blue infrastructure. The city of Essen is creating a network of green areas and open spaces based on the master plan “Open Space Creates City Space”. This network follows the water bodies along the region’s three North-South axes, which connect the more natural Ruhr Valley in the south with the industrial Emscher Valley. The city presented a number of examples where it opted for green-blue and green-gray infrastructure solutions; one of which is the restoration of the river Emscher. The conversion of the Emscher system is the largest water body restoration project in Europe and will last until 2020. Essen also demonstrated the multi-functionality of its projects, such as its rainwater recovery measures. The objective within the Emscher catchment area is to decouple 15% of the area connected to the combined sewer system. 17:35 – 18:05 Formation of 2 groups among participants to discuss options for green infrastructure and hybrid infrastructure solutions, as well as opportunities and barriers to implementation - (30 min.) 18:05 – 18:15 Presentation of ‘top results’ from group discussions (10 min) 18:10 - 18:15 Wrap-up and close of workshop Further recommended reading Green Infrastructure: Guide for Water Management UNEP, 2014: Green Infrastructure Guide for Water Management: Ecosystem-based Management Approaches for Water-Related Infrastructure Projects (2014) UNEP_DHI unep-dhi.org SWITCH Training Kit: Integrated Urban Water Management in the City of the Future Philip, R. et al: SWITCH Training Kit, Module 5: Waste Water – Exploring the options (2011)