Achieved outcomes and impacts:
The project has produced an analysis and evaluation of current planning approaches and processes for climate-resilient urban development, including associated challenges and potential solutions. Additional outcomes include a summary of the diverse services that urban greenery provides for the city's population and targeted factsheets on topics including: heavy rainfall management, financing options for green infrastructure, activating companies and the potential of the Munich Green Belt. A series of brochures aimed primarily at planners and municipal decision-makers was also developed. The project also raised awareness of the designability of desirable developments in a growing city under climate change.
Success factors and lessons learned:
Land competition between green infrastructures for climate adaptation and new housing is currently a major challenge in Munich. The project "Green City of the Future" addresses this competition for space and provides a holistic contribution to the resilience design of cities and to increasing the quality of stay in urban spaces with the help of impact assessments for measures, planning windows of opportunity and strategic approaches to action in urban development as well as with the planned educational modules. For successful and necessary timely climate adaptation, all actors in municipalities must be brought together, informed and motivated to act. The project addresses this in an impressive and action-oriented way with participants from administration, business and civil society. According to the assessments of a project participant from TUM, the following points were key elements of the success of this project.
The equal participation of the research and practice partners (funding!). Sufficient time in the preparation of the phase 1 application and the one-year preliminary phase for the preparation of the main application. During this time, many open questions could be clarified, the partners got to know each other and their respective interests and the respective logics of action. The political support from the city council and the respective department heads. Moreover, the public discourse on climate change led to success of the project. Also a well-moderated project coordination with a lot of communication also between the joint project meetings. A team of younger scientists and city staff who got along well and developed a lot of initiative to work together. The reallab approach, which helped to focus project activities and provided a platform for interaction between partners. The identification of / agreement on reallabs as concrete urban development cases representing different problem situations of climate change adaptation through green infrastructure was indeed a painstaking process, but ultimately quite crucial for the cooperation between research and practice partners.
Lastly early discussion and agreement on the final "products" of the project (a portfolio of brochures and factsheets) made the project a success.
