Adaption to rising temperatures in practise: Examples of three different scales from Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main and Vienna

Using three examples of different scales, we illustrate how we implement tangible adaptation of our cities to the rapidly progressing warming in practice.

Urban Planning:

Last year, the Frankfurt am Main urban planning office developed the new high-rise development plan “HEP 2024”. This plan aims to ensure that new high-rise projects are designed sustainably and with high quality. Our task was to preserve the valuable climate-moderating effects of local and regional wind systems. In particular, the “Wetterauwind” regional wind system, which supplies the entire city with fresh and cool air, needed to remain unaffected by the new high-rises. Individual fact sheets for each new high-rise location, provides analyses and recommendations for future developers. The goal is to maintain this quality throughout the entire planning process all the way to the completed building.

Neighborhood Planning:

In Hamburg, we demonstrate how climate-relevant influences can effectively shape planning decisions in the “Innovationspark Altona”. A new research campus is currently planned for a site identified in the city climate analysis as a cold air corridor. Through our interactive participation in a workshop process with architects and landscape planners, we were helping to lay the foundation for ensuring continued cold air supply to a nearby residential district.

Public Space Design:

On one of Vienna’s most important central historical squares, “Heldenplatz”, we were conducting measurements of summer thermal comfort. Using our mobile measurement unit, we recorded all the parameters needed for PET calculations. This allowed us—supported by microclimate simulations using ENVImet—to create a spatial representation of heat stress conditions on a hot summer day. The aim is now to develop cooling measures that can be utilized by both tourists and locals.

These examples highlight the need for action on multiple levels to ensure that adaptation is truly effective—that is, genuinely perceptible to people.