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European cities bordering seas and rivers are paving the way to climate neutrality by 2030.
Written by Karen McHugh
In the medieval Belgian city of Bruges, the city authorities are looking for a new home and decide to move into an old hospital rather than construct a building.
Elsewhere in Bruges, famous for its picture-postcard atmosphere of winding canals and cobbled streets, work is underway to connect the historic center to the port.
Migration test
The activity highlighted an EU-funded project to examine how to accelerate the transition to climate neutrality in nine European waterfront cities. The scheme, called ‘Re-Value’, will run for four years until 2026.
The project draws inspiration from the New European Bauhaus (NEB) efforts to make everyday life in Europe more sustainable, inclusive and attractive.
“The NEB can be a shortcut to working together faster and better,” said Koen Timmerman, policy officer for the city of Bruges. “NEB could be an additional cog in our cities’ transition to climate neutrality.”
The EU will host the NEB Festival in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, from April 9th to 13th.
Re-Value’s other eight cities are Ålesund in Norway, Burgas in Bulgaria, Cascais in Portugal, Constanta in Romania, Izmir in Turkey, Pisek in the Czech Republic, Rimini in Italy, and Rijeka in Croatia.
This project highlights the unique challenges and opportunities of urban areas bordering oceans, oceans and rivers. An estimated 40% of people in the EU live in such places.
inspiration on stage
“What’s really important is attracting people for climate-neutral cities,” says Annemie Wickmans, who leads Re-Value and is a professor of sustainable architecture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. he says.
In Ålesund, a theater company is working with local authorities to foster public debate on tackling environmental threats, including biodiversity loss and climate change.
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Theater troupe Teatret Vårt has staged an experimental play about the world’s sixth mass extinction, as scientists warn. Unlike the previous five extinctions, including the most recent extinction 65 million years ago that wiped out the dinosaurs, the current mass extinction is primarily caused by human activities, including land, water and energy use and pollution. It is.
This theater production is titled “A Play for People Living in an Age of Extinction” by American playwright Miranda Rose Hall and serves as a springboard for audience discussion on topics raised during the show. .
This one-person play centers on a protagonist who works behind the scenes at a theater company and has to stand in for two absent actors on stage during a performance about the climate crisis. Human interconnectedness and engagement are key themes.
“We hope that this project will give both professionals and residents the confidence to actively participate in developing solutions to create better lives,” Wickmans said.
Teatret Vårt has ties to all nine of Re-Value’s cities, having performed “Theatre for People Living in the Age of Extinction” in all nine cities.
Wickmans said the show encouraged viewers to talk and think about the future and what they could do to shape it.
“We do this exercise with people: If you close your eyes and imagine, what would 2030 look like?” she said. “If you only thought about your neighborhood, what would you do?” How do you live? What about your family and friends? Regarding air quality, what does it smell like?
lake of love
In Bruges, speaking and thinking are accompanied by action.
City authorities will move into a vast red-brick building built in the neo-Gothic style in the late 19th century that once served as a hospice for vulnerable and incurably ill women before becoming a nursing home. become.
Stretching across an entire city block, it is named after the nearby Lake of Love, Huise Minnewater in Flanders. The move could take place in 2027, following renovations currently in preparation.
“The renovation must not only be sustainable and beautiful, but also an inspirational and motivating place where we can together build the Bruges of tomorrow,” said Timmermann.
The planning of the connection between the city center and the port is a joint collaboration between local authorities, cultural organizations, craft manufacturers and food producers.
This includes the regeneration of key areas in line with NEB principles. It means making optimal use of space and encouraging sustainable activities by all actors.
urban forest
Further south, on the Adriatic coast, Rimini is taking nature-based solutions to climate stress by building two parks: Parco del Mare by the sea and Marecchia Park by the river. The goal is to naturalize highly urbanized land.
The city removed the road along the coast and created a pedestrian green space with a variety of plants and trees. Vegetation includes Lippia nodiflora, which requires relatively little water, and salt-tolerant trees such as mountain pines and evergreen oaks. The arrangement of trees maximizes shade and the park acts as a barrier against coastal flooding.
The city is building a sustainable stormwater drainage system in part of the beach park, which is scheduled to be completed in June of this year. Rather than being piped into the sewer network, the park’s drainage system uses permeable materials to drain into the ground below, preventing sewage from overflowing into the ocean.
Separately in Rimini, a group of local volunteers sought and received permission from the municipality to transform the area around an old hotel into a garden and playground.
“We founded Re-Value to support exactly this type of effort,” Wyckmans said. “It was very moving.”
coastal area
Another EU-funded project is working with communities in coastal cities to develop NEB-inspired initiatives towards climate neutrality.
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The project, called Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (BoSS), is a three-year project that will run until the end of 2025.
It focuses on different coastal ecosystems in six EU countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden).
The lessons learned will help inform and inspire other cities across Europe to replicate the most successful efforts.
“Our goal is to bring the Bauhaus principles of a new Europe of beauty, sustainability and togetherness to coastal cities,” said Nuno Jardim, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and BoSS Coordinator at the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. Nunes said. .
lisbon lessons
In Lisbon, the project’s focus is on food and sustainability.
Researchers are working with city residents, chefs and schools to design menus that integrate ingredients and resources from the Tagus estuary, making diets more local and sustainable.
“We urgently need to link sustainability and ocean protection policies to avoid putting these highly vulnerable areas at risk,” said Jardim Nunez.
The project is also investigating river and ocean materials in Lisbon, such as algae, shells and flotsam, which can be used for furniture and building materials.
The focus is on small-scale efforts to see if they can eventually be scaled up to build structures such as homes.
Jardim Nunez, who grew up on the Madeira Islands and was inspired by the sea from an early age, said different generations and cultures need to work together to tackle the climate crisis.
Elsewhere in the project, Malmö in Sweden will transform a former dock into a sustainable living and working district, Venice in Italy will seek to reconnect older people with its lagoon, and Hamburg in northern Germany will explore Promotes education.
“To bring about change, we need to inspire people and give them hope,” Jardim Nunez said. “BoSS is trying to achieve a practical, small-scale example of how this works at scale.”
The research for this article was funded by the EU’s Horizon program. The views of the interviewees do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
new europe bauhaus
A century after its birth in Germany, Bauhaus art, architecture and design is making a comeback in Europe to improve urban life.
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) aims to help cities across the EU become less polluted and more attractive through arts, culture and technology projects that reach millions of residents.
Established by the European Commission in 2020, the NEB has three main goals: reducing environmental damage, including climate change; tackling social inequalities, including exclusion; and improving public areas.
Transforming the design and use of urban spaces and structures is at the heart of the overall effort, with sustainability, inclusivity and aesthetics forming the overall vision.
The NEB relies on bottom-up efforts by a variety of people and organizations, while achieving policy objectives set at EU level. These include city residents, arts organizations, architectural professionals, local businesses, authorities, and students.
Research will be the main feature of the NEB, with around EUR 160 million being invested in EU projects between 2021 and 2024.
This article was first published horizon EU Research and Innovation Magazine.
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