CAPACITY BUILDING
Jammu and Kashmir UTC, World Urban Campaign of UN-Habitat
Increasing Resilience of School Buildings and Vulnerable Groups to cope with Extreme Weather Events in Himalayas-India
RUPD with its German and Indian partners ''Mannheim City'', ''UNICEF India'' and ''ELFA International'' organized a virtual Urban Thinkers Campus hosted by Sphere India.
The UTC aims to identify and implement effective strategies to enhance the resilience of school buildings, which are vital infrastructure in the region, to extreme weather events. The campus will address various hazards in the area, increase awareness of the impact of extreme weather events on vulnerable populations, and promote multi-stakeholder engagement to foster innovative solutions that effectively address challenges. Moreover, the UTC will develop a 10-year Road Map collaboratively to strengthen the resilience of school buildings, build the capacity of vulnerable populations to extreme weather events, and mobilize support for action. In addition, the UTC will bring together multiple partners from Germany and India to foster joint initiatives between cities to tackle shared challenges, such as sharing resources, knowledge, expertise, or collaborating on specific projects. Through city-to-city learning, the UTC will facilitate the exchange of best practices, ideas, knowledge, and resources, enhancing their policies and programs.
RUPD GbR and Mannheim Municipality, as chairs of ‘Business and Industries’ and ‘Local and Sub-national Authorities’ Partner Constituent Groups (PCGs), are helping to expand the World Urban Campaign (WUC), an initiative of UN-Habitat, to better advocate and engage in sustainable urbanization, and promote alliances for action to achieve the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs.
During the UTC, the speakers will cover various subjects such as managing natural disasters and adapting to climate change, reducing vulnerability, protecting and strengthening infrastructure, overcoming obstacles to strategy implementation, engaging stakeholders, highlighting successful practices and experiences for adapting to climate impact and managing disasters in India and Germany, and addressing hazards and their consequences by developing innovative and effective solutions.
The UTC is closely aligned with the NUA as it brings together various partners and engages multiple stakeholders to raise awareness and develop innovative solutions to increase the resilience of infrastructure and capacity of target groups. The outcome of the campus will focus on promoting environmentally safe and sustainable practices, and making the Jammu and Kashmir region more resilient to natural disasters and climate change. This effort will contribute to achieving several SDGs, including SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry & Innovation), SDG 11 (Inclusive, Safe and Resilient Cities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for Sustainable Development). The UTC also aligns with "The City We Need" initiative, which is a global campaign that aims to promote sustainable urban development and support the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. The UTC's focus on increasing resilience and promoting sustainable practices in Jammu and Kashmir is in line with the principles of "The City We Need" initiative. Specifically, the UTC's efforts contribute to Principle 3 of the initiative, which calls for cities to promote environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development.
Click here for further information about Jammu and Kashmir UTC.
PARTNERS
Second Kuala Lumpur UTC, World Urban Campaign of UN-Habitat
Implementation of Urban Climate Change Action Plan in Kuala Lumpur
PARTNERS
RUPD with its German and Malaysian partners ''Mannheim City'', ''Urbanice Malaysia'' and ''The National University of Malaysia'' organized a virtual Urban Thinkers Campus hosted by Mannheim City, Germany.
The second phase of Kuala Lumpur #Urbanthinkers (KLUTC2022) with the theme of ‘’Implementation of Urban Climate Change Action Plan in Kuala Lumpur’’ will be hosted virtually by Mannheim City in Germany on 11 Feb. 2022. The KLUTC2022‘s aim is to achieve the 2030 Agenda by knowledge sharing and learning from each other how to overcome the existing obstacles which we are facing to implement the climate action plan.
The first phase of KLUTC, with a focus on urban climate change issues, was held in December 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. It was a collaboration between different partners like Resilient urban planning and development (RUPD) GbR in Germany, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Climate Change Institute at the National University of Malaysia, Urbanice Malaysia, and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. It was a successful campus with the main aim of localising SDGs related to urban climate change issues. Various stakeholders have been brought together successfully, different voices have been heard and the challenges have been discussed in multi-levels and prioritised to take action as well as the potential measures have been suggested.
We kept track and continue our collaboration in different forms and constantly inviting potential partners into our platform to exchange, learn from each other and together try to overcome obstacles and bridge the gaps from different perspectives in order to eventually implement the climate action plans on the ground and achieve the goal of the 2030 agenda and Paris Agreement.
To continue our journey, Dr. Peter Kurz, the mayor of Mannheim City supported us to organise the 2d phase of KLUTC. We have a great honour that Mannheim city which successfully developed the ‘’Local Green Deal’’ hosts this campus. Mannheim is among the German cities which are constantly working on green and sustainable infrastructures to makethe city carbon-free by 2050.
By organising the Urban Thinkers Campuses, we are aiming to start initiatives to support each other to take action and be climate-resilient cities, since we all share the same boat and benefit from our actions.
Click here for further information about KLUTC 2022.
First Nagpur UTC, World Urban Campaign of UN-Habitat
Think Innovative Act for Urban Climate Change (TACTFUL)
RUPD with its Indian partners ''Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, (VNIT) Nagpur, India'', ''Resilience Innovation Knowledge Academy (RIKA) India'', ''Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management'', ''Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee'', ''India-Japan Laboratory'', ''Keio University, Japan'', ''ARISE India FICCI'', and ''IRDR ICoE'' organized a virtual Urban Thinker Campus hosted by VINT, Nagpur.
The theme of the campus was the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon with the cross-cutting theme of COVID-19. Over 90% COVID cases are in urban areas. The urban areas in India face the problem of overcrowding and lack of open spaces. Both of these factors add to the risk of UHI and COVID-19. The theme caters to enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management. One of the strategies to mitigate the UHI effect is increasing the Green and Blue spaces. Further, the issues of water and sanitation directly impact the COVID-19 preventive measures.
The aims of the campus were to deliberate on issues of reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and biomedical waste management, specifically focusing on COVID-19 waste management.
The campus addressed:
1. SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing);
2. SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation);
3. SDG 9 (Industry & Innovation);
4. SDG 11 (Inclusive, Safe and Resilient Cities);
5. SDG 13 (Climate Action); and
6. SDG 17 (Partnerships for Sustainable Development).
The campus through its multi-stakeholder partnerships aimed for localization of SDGs through implementation of solutions which are local and unique to the area. The campus’s idea on reducing the financial, environmental and public health costs of congestion, air pollution, UHI effects radiate with the aims of New Urban Agenda.
Click here for further information about IndiaUTC 2020.
PARTNERS
First Kuala Lumpur UTC, World Urban Campaign of UN-Habitat
Combating the Urban Climate Change in South-East Asia: Towards Implementation of New Urban Agenda
PARTNERS
RUPD with its Malaysian partners ''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 as well as GIZ Thailand and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) organized an Urban Thinker Campus in Kuala Lumpur (KL) as one of the most important hubs and emerging cities in the South-East Asia.
The Urban Thinkers Campus is an initiative of UN-Habitat’s World Urban Campaign, conceived as an open space for critical exchange between all stakeholders and partners aims to promote sustainable urbanization. It is also envisaged as a platform to advocate for enlightened planning and design, community engagement, good urban governance and management of our cities as advocated in ''The City We Need'' and propose urban solutions in addressing urbanization challenges to urban futures.
The KL Urban Thinker Campus held, from 7th to 9th Dec. 2019 with the aim of achieving an ''Implementable Urban Climate Change Action Plan'' to combat Urban Heat Island (UHI) Phenomenon with the objectives of: 1. Raising awareness; 2. Involving different stakeholders; 3. Sharing and getting implementation-oriented knowledge; 4. Gathering the organizations commitments; 5. Localizing the SDGs related to urban climate change; 6. Prioritizing the issues and identifying the stakeholders related to each issue; 7. Achieving a manifesto, which leads us towards implementing the ''Urban Climate Change Action Plan'' on the lines of NUA.
Click here for further information about KLUTC2019.
RUPD's International Symposiums
Urban Climate Change Resilience: With Focus on Urban Heat Island Phenomenon
RUPD with its Iranian partners in Tehran and Qazvin cities like ''Ministry of Roads and Urban Development'' and ''Qazvin Province Road and Urbanism Office'' organized two international symposiums to share and collect new ideas and concepts to integrate relevant and appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures.
The main aim of the symposiums was to introduce new approaches of resilient urban climate change planning. In addition, round tables and discussions organized to achieve significant and unique ideas of solving problems and share it with different countries.
The objectives of the workshop include:
- Reviewing and sharing knowledge about the current state of understanding about urban climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies;
- Identifying key and relevant issues of urban response to climate change;
- Identifying critical research questions and employ innovative methodologies;
- Engaging in multi/interdisciplinary problem-solving;
- Developing draft manuscripts on the identified issues; and
- Promoting future collaboration of research on urban climate change planning.
PARTNERS
Workshop
symposium on Sustainability and Resilience in Architecture and Urban Planning
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.
Series of Training Courses
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''. SLE is 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.
2016- 2018 / Berlin, Germany
Intensive Training Courses
Climate Adaptive Architecture and Urban Planning Countering Urban Climate Change
11-12 May 2016 / Tehran University, Iran
RUPD has been invited to organize an intensive training course at Tehran University, Architecture and Urban Planning Department in May 2016. The course theme was ''Climate Adaptive Architecture and Urban Planning Countering Urban Climate Change''. Students and professionals from different organizations especially Tehran Municipality have been participated.
The objectives of the workshop include:
- Reviewing and sharing knowledge about the current state of understanding about urban climate, climate change in cities, mitigation and adaptation strategies;
- Comparing mitigation and adaption strategies to climate change across different countries and regions;
- Identifying key and relevant issues of urban response to climate change;
- Identifying critical research questions and employ innovative methodologies; and
- Engaging in multi/interdisciplinary problem-solving.
Series of Training Courses
Cities and Climate Change
Parisa Kloss has been invited to train different stakeholders titled in universities and organizations like Urban Management Department, Technical Universität Berlin, Art University, Architecture and Urban Planning Department, and Tehran Urban Research and Planning Centre at Tehran Municipality. The aim of the course was to discuss the urban challenges regarding to climate change with focus on urban heat island phenomenon.
The objectives of the workshop include:
- Raising awareness and building capacity of various stakeholders;
- Reviewing and sharing knowledge about the current state of understanding about urban climate, climate change in cities, mitigation and adaptation strategies;
- Comparing mitigation and adaption strategies to climate change across different countries and regions;
- Identifying key and relevant issues of urban response to climate change;
- Identifying critical research questions and employ innovative methodologies; and
- Engaging in multi/interdisciplinary problem-solving.
02 May 2016 / Tehran Urban Research & Planning Centre at Tehran Municipality, Iran
Summer School on 'Cultural Landscape and Urban Resilience
Meaning of Urban Heat Island for Planning
19 August 2014 / Bauhaus Universität Weimer, Germany
RUPD has been invited to hold one of the lectures of the summer school organized by Bauhaus Universität Weimer in August 2014. The RUPD's contribution was on discussing the integration of urban heat island into the urban planning process.
The summer school discussed how far different man-made and natural factors are influential on our built environment and in how far research tools and instruments can respond to develop a deeper understanding in creating more resilient cities. The course systematically approached an understanding of urban resilience that both connect man-made as well as natural conditions in the urban context, including scales from the urban to the building level.
- Setting parameters for urban resilience
- The complexity of integrated urban development concepts and the realities
- Analytical approaches to urban heat islands
- Societal ideals and the impact of urban green for the urban environment
- Drawing out a comparative study between informal and formal settlements
- Learning how affected areas can be connected to user-oriented systems
- Consequences from the case studies for integrative planning schemes
Click here for further information about the summer school.