Hitzeresiliente Städte: Warum gelingt die Umsetzung nicht?

Abstract

Heat resilience of cities has been gaining importance increasingly due to rising temperatures and lasting heat waves in the context of climate change. Therefore, the need to take climate action and implement effective adaption measures has become more urgent. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has been promoting strategies to increase resilience, e.g. by improving both urban green and health prevention, which can be seen as synergetic to climate adaptation. Despite a broad consensus that immediate climate action is needed, progress in implementation is advancing rather slowly. By investigating case studies in Dresden and Erfurt, Germany, this article points out barriers in implementing adaption measures and within the communication between stakeholders in the adaption process. The study has found insufficiencies in the current standing of climate adaption in cities’ responsibilities and in conflict with competing interests, its integration into administrative tasks and the cross-departmental, collaborative approach in planning and implementation of adaption measures. Furthermore, a relevant obstacle has been identified in the holding on to traditional urban design principles that conflict with climate adaption to urban heat. The analysis is followed by a discussion of possible solutions to these obstacles, which are contextualized by theorical approach of Climate Adaption Governance by reviewing available instruments and examining the relations between key stakeholders. English title: Heat-resilient cities: Why does the implementation not succeed? Governance analysis of implementation and communication problems using the case studies of Dresden and Erfurt