Home > Case Studies > Future Cities: Urban Networks to Face Climate Change

Future Cities: Urban Networks to Face Climate Change

Future Cities is a three year project to help city-regions in North West Europe to adapt to climate change.

The key aims are to achieve a common assessment framework for climate–adapted towns and cities; action plans and strategies; eight pilot construction projects and awareness-raising among decision-makers of how to manage climate change impacts.

The project partners are drawn from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Germany. They are focussing upon key urban issues around water systems, energy saving/production and ‘green structures’ and include water boards, local authorities, urban planners and project developers.

Locally we are currently working on four areas:

• A study of the South East of England’s vulnerability to climate change, identifying regional variations and providing further evidence base for local adaptation planning. The South East England Regional Partnership Board is the partner carrying out this work.

• A climate change adaptation strategy and action plan for Hastings is being developed by Hastings Borough Council, using evidence from the regional study and the UKCP09.

• The Enviro 21 Innovation Exchange building, part of a series of business parks evolving over the next decade which will have exhibition and meeting space and a sustainable restaurant. The Exchange will be a business to business focal point in which to network and collaborate. It will act as a platform for dissemination of knowledge and best practice in adaptation to climate change.

• An eco-retrofit project in Cambridge Gardens of a Victorian property conversion into four flats, which will act as an exemplar for adapting buildings for the future. It is providing training on-site to local construction students and professionals in the appropriate uses of environmental technologies and materials. A training video is under production and the work aims to help them gain skills for the future.

• Hastings Borough Council will take the lead partner role on the awareness raising strand in 2010. This element of the project targets professionals, policy makers and community leaders to increase awareness of the importance of adapting to climate change and the range of measures that may be appropriate. In preparation for this we held a seminar ‘Facing up to Climate Change’ in September 2009 (link below) that brought together some leading thinkers in the realm of retrofit of buildings, new developments, infrastructure/urban design and water management.

• We will also be building on the work of ‘Energise Hastings’ a local private/public/community sector partnership with the aim of making Hastings zero carbon by 2066. A structured network of construction and energy/new technology professionals that can share experience and develop ideas and pursue funding streams where appropriate.

Details of the Future Cities working group meetings held in Hastings last year and future key milestones and proceedings are all up on the main project website, and the project will end with a final conference in 2012 at the Sea Space Innovation Exchange Centre in Hastings.