Urban ClimaAdApp

Many cities face adverse urban climate effects. Measures to counteract urban climate challenges often consist of small-scale interventions that add up, but they also consist of larger scale urban planning strategies. So, different groups of people have to implement spatial adaptation interventions in the urban fabric. House owners can implement small scale interventions around their properties and designers of public spaces can implement small scale solutions in public spaces. Urban planners can implement measures on the large scale of city planning. For optimal achievements, all these groups have to take adaptation actions and need to know what to do in which places.

To inspire and facilitate such concrete adaptation actions and to make information easily accessible for all, we developed the Urban ClimaAdApp. The prototype of this smartphone app was made for the city of Amsterdam (Netherlands). This app shows high resolution urban climate maps, indicating urban climate problems and potentials for its improvement. The urban climate map was created with a an automated generation of urban climate classifications (local climate zone system) and a desk study on wind issues (danger spots and ventilation potentials). Additionally, the Urban ClimaAdApp provides place specific adaptation recommendations based on the degree of urgency to take action (e.g. implementing urban greening, providing wind shelter, etc.). The recommended interventions are illustrated with photographs and according to their efficacy, relative costs and maintenance. The first prototype of the Urban ClimaAdApp was launched last year and we can now reflect on the prototype’s advantages and disadvantages.

Sanda Lenzholzer is an Associate Professor at Wageningen University and Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS).

She studied landscape architecture at the Leibniz University Hannover (Dipl. Ing.) and Housing and Urbanism at the Architectural Association School in London (MA) and subsequently worked as a designer at agencies in the Netherlands and Germany (e.g. Sant & Co, Mecanoo, ST Freiraum) and was a part-time lecturer at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Since 2004 she is tenured at the Wageningen University. She specialized in the relationship between research and design and mainly focused on climate-oriented urban and landscape design. Within her research she integrates urban climate science with urban planning and design practice. She publishes widely in refereed journals and her recent book on urban climate adaptation “The weather in the city / Het weer in de stad” (nai010 publishers) received very good reviews. Through her research projects (e.g. Climate Proof Cities, Climadaptool, Realcool) she contributes to improving the knowledge base of climate-reponsive urban design. She also bridges the gap between science and practice by advising design agencies, municipalities and provinces, giving guest lectures and master classes in many countries.