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Climate-friendly cities: How green spaces can protect our water!
The University of Munich is researching innovative approaches to rainwater management and urban climate adaptation to make cities more livable.
Climate-friendly cities: How green spaces can protect our water!
At a time when climate change is becoming increasingly noticeable, innovative approaches to water management in urban areas are becoming increasingly important. A current research project at the Technical University of Munich sheds light on how multifunctional areas in cities can be developed to act as intermediate storage for rainwater. By using such areas, not only can the burden on existing sewage systems be reduced, but also the quality of life in urban areas can be increased tum.de reports.
An illustrative example from Rotterdam shows how basketball courts are flooded during heavy rain to relieve the strain on the wastewater infrastructure. Such creative solutions are part of a holistic approach that also includes conducting research to analyze pollutants from stormwater from non-metallic roofs. The aim is to reduce the entry of pollutants into the groundwater and to use infiltration troughs and technical treatment systems.
Optimization of the urban environment
Another important aspect of the project is the study of urban trees. These should be better adapted to climatic changes by optimizing both the location and the substrate requirements. The use of water-storing materials plays a crucial role in this context. The benefit of cisterns, which serve as small water reservoirs to supply plants during drought, is also highlighted.
Collaboration is the key to successful urban development. The project promotes interdisciplinarity through the cooperation of ecosystem researchers, architects, landscape planners and social scientists. A key goal is to improve local water balance and increase biodiversity in cities to create a more livable environment for citizens.
Criticism of existing construction methods
Greening roofs and facades is seen as another important step in promoting energy-efficient buildings and increasing climate resilience. However, there is a need for legal regulations for green roofs on public buildings in order to secure long-term benefits. Critical voices complain that the current construction approach is often “as cheap and quick as possible,” which could jeopardize long-term benefits. Green roofs not only provide significant environmental benefits, but also improve the insulation of buildings.
The requirement for an honest calculation of operating and follow-up costs is therefore essential for sustainable urban development in order to adequately assess the value of such projects. In addition, large-scale strategies are developed that take place at the entire city or watershed level. These include the identification and prioritization of fields of action as well as the development of urban development models with water-related elements, which umweltbundesamt.de serves as a basis for multifunctional area designs.
Another example of the implementation of these concepts can be observed in cities such as Gelsenkirchen and Wuppertal, where model projects to increase the attractiveness of above-ground open spaces have already been successfully tested. The combination of these measures aims to increase the quality of life and increase the (useful) value of properties, while at the same time taking into account flood prevention and the reduction of infrastructure construction costs.