Climate-resilient cities
About this expertise
In short- Climate-resilient, nature-based cities
- Ecology embedded in urban growth
- Circular, resilient living environments
- Strategic guidance for sustainable development
- Increased urban biodiversity and livability
Using our expertise on blue and green approaches to nature-based design for cities, we build an evidence base on the costs and benefits of designing climate-resilient cities.
The world is urbanising fast: by 2050 over 6 billion people will live in cities. And city dwellers will increasingly feel the effects of climate change - floods, droughts and heat waves will be more extreme and more frequent. Nature-based solutions such as green roofs, green facades, green space and urban forest are innovative and promising ways to increase climate resilience and make cities pleasanter and healthier places to live.
Climate change is a long-term challenge. Stop-gap measures only help in the short term. Wageningen University & Research uses a landscape-based approach to help urban planners and local authorities make cities more robust in the face of increasing weather extremes.
- Identifying weak spots that will be affected by climate extremes
- Visualisation of climate information to facilitate planning processes
- Cooling cities by smart management of urban waterways
- Reducing damage caused by excess runoff water by planting trees
- Vaporising water for a cooling effect
- Creating wadis for water storage
Get inspired
Cities are increasingly facing the impacts of climate change — from extreme rainfall to water shortages and heat. WUR studies how urban green spaces can help buffer these weather extremes. The research focuses on enhancing the city’s sponge effect, capturing rainwater, and reusing it where possible. In Rotterdam, efforts are already underway to make the city greener.
Get in touch with our expert
Get in touch with our experts to collaborate on climate-resilient cities
JGWF (Joris) Voeten, MSc
Researcher Nature-based Solutions urban area