Climate Resilient City

The Netherlands: climate-proof by 2050. This is the ambition agreed by the central government, provinces, municipalities and water authorities. Realising it is easier said than done. After all, which measures will ultimately be the most effective? What steps need to be taken now to achieve this? And what about the costs and benefits?

Considered decisions

The work of the Climate Resilient City research group provides practical insights that help policymakers, businesses and residents make considered decisions. For example, the group develops guidelines for the construction of green spaces and road-water harvesting, and makes designs for neighbourhoods and houses based on various future scenarios – such as extreme precipitation, heat or drought, and rising sea levels. The designs also take into account other social issues, such as biodiversity and urban densification.

The professor

Jeroen Kluck, Professor of Climate Resilient City City since 2008, studied Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology. There he also obtained his PhD, in 1997, for his study of flow and sedimentation in storage and settlement basins. “I find it important that the research we do is translated into solutions that benefit society,” says Kluck.

Education

The Climate Resilient City research group fully involves students in research, for example through final-year internships and the minor The Climate-Proof City. Together with the lecturer-researchers, they are building a solid knowledge base to aid the development of climate-proof cities. The group also provides education in the form of lectures and seminars in the curriculum of the Built Environment and Urban Management programmes. Together with the Centre of Expertise City Net Zero, the research group also develops courses for professionals. An example is the learning programme Climate Adaptation.

Partners

The Climate Resilient City research group works together with the government, other knowledge institutions, engineering and consultancy firms and (contractor) companies. The research is funded in part by a grant from the Top Sector Water & Maritime.