Workshop
Greening Egyptian Cities: A Path from Research to Real-World Impact
2 November 2023 / Berlin, Germany
RUPD is honored to contribute to the 'Towards Green(er) Egyptian Cities: through People-Centered Practice-Oriented Urban Education' project at Habitat Unit, TU Berlin— a German-Egyptian collaboration. Aligning with the project's objectives, RUPD conducted an interactive workshop, 'Greening Egyptian Cities: A Path from Research to Real-World Impact.' Drawing from the workshop, we distilled 21 principles essential for seamlessly integrating research, strategy, and real-world impact into existing syllabi. These principles guide a holistic urban sustainability education, strategically embedded within current courses or through dedicated modules to equip students with comprehensive knowledge and practical skills. Additionally, we have crafted a roadmap for enhancing urban sustainability education, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This initiative prepares students for the collaborative nature of addressing complex urban challenges through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS).
Cairo Urban Thinkers Campuse,
World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat
25-26 October 2023 / Cairo, Egypt
RUPD successfully organized the Cairo UTC during Urban October with its partners: Urban Development Fund (UDF), GIZ Egypt, Habitat for Humanity, Cairo University, and Technical University Berlin. The UTC, titled 'Heat Stress Resilience: Translating Strategy into Urban Climate Actions,' had a triple purpose, with a key focus on raising awareness. By facilitating knowledge sharing, it ensured that local decision-makers were well-informed about heat stress challenges and solutions. It also served as a space for presenting and deliberating on the 'Urban Climate Resilience Strategy for Adaptation Action' project. Through interactive sessions and workshops, participants critically examined the strategy, provided feedback, and offered insights based on their experiences. Additionally, the UTC identified actionable local measures to address heat stress. Drawing lessons from successful actions in other contexts, participants collaborated to develop a roadmap for adoption by local municipalities and stakeholders. Click here to read the Cairo UTC story in World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat website.
9-11 December 2020 / Virtual
RUPD, in collaboration with Indian partners including ''Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India,'' ''Resilience Innovation Knowledge Academy
India,'' ''Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management,'' ''Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,'' ''India-Japan Laboratory,'' ''Keio University, Japan,'' ''ARISE India FICCI,'' and ''IRDR ICoE,'' organized a virtual Urban Thinker Campus hosted by VINT, Nagpur. The campus focused on the UHI with a cross-cutting theme of COVID-19, given that over 90% of COVID cases are in urban areas in India. The aim was to enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization, focusing on strategies like increasing Green and Blue spaces to mitigate the UHI effect, and addressing water and sanitation issues impacting COVID-19 prevention. The campus aligned with several SDGs and aimed to localize SDGs through unique, area-specific solutions and resonated with the goals of the New Urban Agenda by addressing congestion, air pollution, and UHI effects. Click here for further information about IndiaUTC 2020.
Workshop
Catalyzing Heat Resilience City
26 October 2023 / Cairo, Egypt
RUPD organized a workshop on 'Catalyzing Heat Resilience City', conducted as part of the Cairo UrbanThinkers Campus (UTC), convened representatives from seven diverse Egyptian cities—Cairo, Giza, Aswan, Abnob, Shubra el Kheima, Montazah, and Edko. Focused on addressing escalating urban heat challenges, the workshop aimed to inspire commitment to principles essential for fostering heat stress-resilient cities. Through its commitment-focused approach, the workshop sought to go beyond discussions, laying the groundwork for tangible, city-specific actions. It aimed to initiate a collaborative and committed effort to confront the intricate challenges presented by increasing urban heat, with the ultimate goal of forging cities that are resilient, equitable, and sustainable in the face of a changing climate. Leveraging the outcomes, we developed 'A Commitment Statement Road Map for Catalyzing Heat Resilience in Egyptian Cities.'
Jammu and Kashmir Urban Thinkers Campuse,
World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat
28 April 2023 / Virtual
RUPD, in collaboration with partners such as ''Mannheim City,'' ''UNICEF India,'' and ''ELFA International,'' organized a virtual Urban Thinkers Campus hosted by Sphere India. The UTC's primary objective is to enhance the resilience of school buildings in the region to extreme weather events, addressing various hazards and increasing awareness among vulnerable populations. It aims to foster multi-stakeholder engagement, develop a 10-year Road Map for strengthening resilience, and facilitate city-to-city learning between Germany and India. This initiative aligns with the New Urban Agenda, supporting sustainable urbanization and contributing to several SDGs, including Good Health & Wellbeing, Quality Education, Industry & Innovation, Inclusive, Safe and Resilient Cities, Climate Action, and Partnerships for Sustainable Development. The UTC also aligns with "The City We Need" initiative, emphasizing environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development, specifically focusing on Principle 3 of the initiative. Click here for further information about Jammu and Kashmir UTC.
7-9 December 2019 / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
RUPD, in partnership with Malaysian organizations such as the Institute of Climate Change at the National University of Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), URBANICE Malaysia, GIZ Thailand, and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), organized a Kuala Lumpur (KL) Urban Thinker Campus, focusing on sustainable urbanization. This event, held from 7th to 9th Dec. 2019, aimed to develop an "Implementable Urban Climate Change Action Plan" to address the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Phenomenon. Objectives included raising awareness, involving stakeholders, sharing implementation-oriented knowledge, localizing urban climate change-related SDGs, prioritizing issues, and achieving a manifesto aligned with the New Urban Agenda (NUA) for implementing the action plan. Click here for further information about KLUTC2019.
Workshop
SDG Localization
26 October 2023 / Cairo, Egypt
RUPD, with partner Habitat Unit, TU Berlin, organized a workshop during Cairo UTC Action Day to familiarize representatives from seven Egyptian cities with climate-related SDGs, focusing on goals 7, 9, 11, 13, and 17. The objective was to guide them through the localization process using the City WORKS Tool by GIZ.The workshop brought together diverse participants from academia, civil society, government, NGOs, and local municipalities to:
1.Increase SDG awareness in urban contexts; 2.Deepen understanding of SDGs in urban development and climate change mitigation; 3.Identify strengths and weaknesses in each urban area's sustainable development and climate resilience; 4.Guide participants in prioritizing SDG targets on city maps; 5.Visualize spatial distribution to identify immediate urban challenges; 6.Identify and categorize stakeholders based on influence and interest; 7.Enhance understanding of key actors addressing urban challenges in climate change; 8.Use the SDG Wheel to position urban areas on SDGs, focusing on 7, 9, 11, 13, and 17; 9.Assess visually the achievement level for each target, indicating progress and areas needing improvement; 10.Moderate open discussions for findings and participant reflection; 11.Foster knowledge sharing, exchange experiences, and insights for SDG localization.
2nd Kuala Lumpur Urban Thinkers Campuse,
World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat
11 February 2022 / Virtual
RUPD, along with German and Malaysian partners like ''Mannheim City,'' ''Urbanice Malaysia,'' and ''The National University of Malaysia,'' organized a virtual Urban Thinkers Campus hosted by Mannheim City. The second phase of Kuala Lumpur KLUTC2022 focused on 'Implementation of Urban Climate Change Action Plan in Kuala Lumpur' and was hosted virtually on 11 Feb. 2022. KLUTC2022 aimed to achieve the 2030 Agenda by sharing knowledge and addressing obstacles to implementing climate action plans. The first phase of KLUTC, held in December 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, successfully localized SDGs related to urban climate change issues through collaboration with various partners. To continue this journey, Dr. Peter Kurz, the mayor of Mannheim City, supported the organization of the second phase of KLUTC, hosted by Mannheim City, known for its commitment to sustainability. These Urban Thinkers Campuses aim to foster climate-resilient cities by initiating collaborative actions and supporting one another. Click here for further information about KLUTC 2022.
Urban Climate Change Resilience: With Focus on
Urban Heat Island Phenomenon
3-4 December 2014 / Tehran & Qazvin, Iran
RUPD, in collaboration with Iranian partners such as the ''Ministry of Roads and Urban Development'' and ''Qazvin Province Road and Urbanism Office,'' organized two international symposiums in Tehran and Qazvin cities. These events aimed to exchange ideas and concepts for integrating effective mitigation and adaptation measures in urban planning. The symposiums focused on introducing innovative approaches to resilient urban climate change planning, fostering problem-solving discussions, and sharing solutions with different countries. The objectives included reviewing and sharing knowledge on climate change strategies, identifying key urban response issues, posing critical research questions, engaging in interdisciplinary problem-solving, developing draft manuscripts on identified topics, and promoting future research collaboration in urban climate change planning.
symposium on Sustainability and Resilience in
Architecture and Urban Planning
1 October 2014 / Tehran, Iran
RUPD has been invited to contribute to the symposium on ''Sustainability and Resilience in Architecture and Urban Planning''. RUPD's workshop focused on the issue from urban planning perspective titled ''From Stability to Dynamic: Urban Resilience and Sustainability''. The purpose of this symposium was to make practical use of the potential of design disciplines in the face of technology, modern science and interdisciplinary communication and other specialized sciences in the new millennium. Setting up this collection of meetings for the idea maker and its organizer (Designer Magazine) is therefore valuable and important because it puts the creation of a correct and logical knowledge and the analysis of the current design market on its agenda and makes every effort to transfer it.
Cities and Climate Change
2 May 2016 / Tehran Urban Research & Planning Centre at Tehran Municipality, Iran
Parisa Kloss conducted training sessions for multiple stakeholders, including the Art University's Architecture and Urban Planning Department, and the Tehran Urban Research and Planning Centre under Tehran Municipality. The training focused on urban climate challenges, with a particular emphasis on the UHI effect. The workshops aimed to raise awareness, build capacity, and facilitate knowledge sharing regarding urban climate along with strategies for mitigation and adaptation. They also encouraged discussions on global approaches, urban climate response issues, research questions, & interdisciplinary problem-solving.
2016- 2018 / Berlin, Germany
Climate Adaptive Architecture and Urban Planning
Countering Urban Climate Change
11-12 May 2016 / Tehran University, Iran
The Urban Heat Island Effects and Mitigation Strategies
RUPD has been invited to contribute to the training courses of the Centre for Rural Development (SLE) since 2016. The theme of the courses is ''Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Mainstreaming''. SLEis an organization of the Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Experts in international cooperation from around the world participate in these courses. RUPD contributes with the Urban Heat Island theme and share its knowledge and experience with the participants.
19 August 2014 / Bauhaus Universität Weimer,
Germany
RUPD was honored to lead a lecture during the summer school organized by Bauhaus Universität Weimar in August 2014. The focus of RUPD's contribution was the integration of urban heat islands into the urban planning process. The summer school provided a comprehensive platform for exploring the influences of various man-made and natural factors on our built environment and how research tools can deepen our understanding to create more resilient cities. The course took a systematic approach to understanding urban resilience, bridging the gap between human-made and natural elements in urban contexts, from the city to the building level. It addressed parameters for urban resilience, complexities in integrated urban development concepts, analytical methods for urban heat islands, the impact of urban green spaces, comparative studies between informal and formal settlements, connecting affected areas to user-oriented systems, and the implications of case studies for integrative planning schemes. Click here for further information about the summer school.
RUPD was honored to conduct an intensive training course at Tehran University's Architecture and Urban Planning Department. The course drew participants from diverse backgrounds, including students and professionals from various organizations, notably Tehran Municipality. The workshop's objectives encompassed reviewing and sharing knowledge regarding urban climate change, exploring mitigation and adaptation strategies, comparing global approaches, identifying key urban climate response issues, posing critical research questions, and fostering multi/interdisciplinary problem-solving efforts.
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