Background and Goals
In the Evolving Regions project eight participating regions will be enabled to develop and implement integrated and innovative solutions for the challenges of climate adaptation together with seven different partner institutions. The method of integrated road mapping, which will be further developed in the project, acts as a procedural framework and can be transferred to other regions in NRW, Germany and Europe. The consortium of the project includes seven regions from NRW, and an association of two municipalities of the province of Overijssel in the Netherlands, and seven partner institutions. The regions are all rural regions with middle and upper centres. Despite many similarities, the consequences of climate change will have different effects in the regions, depending on local conditions.
In order to develop tailor-made solutions, the eight regions go through complete climate adaptation cycles using the method of integrated roadmapping: taking into account the initial situation, vision-guided climate adaptation measures are developed and these are collected in a strategic planning document.
Evolving Regions has three specific aims:
- Self-empowerment: The participating regions will become climate resilient by establishing further cooperation, further climate knowledge, new dialogue formats and network structures in order to develop themselves as a region in the future.
- Integration into planning processes: The overarching theme of climate adaptation will be integrated into local and regional planning processes.
- Knowledge exchange and rollout: The Evolving Regions project will make available the roadmap procedure, which has been further developed in the regions, with maps on climate impacts, dialogue formats, exemplary strategies and bundles of measures, as well as monitoring concepts for other regions and potential service providers of the climate adaptation economy.
Content time
sinceResearch area/region
Country
- Germany
Region of implementation (all German federal states)
- Northrhine-Westphalia
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
The project analyzes possible effects of climate change and localizes them in the eight partner regions. The climate impact analysis is prepared in the form of maps. The climate impact is blended with spatial characteristics, such as the regional building fabric, so that regional hotspots and danger spots can be read directly.
Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances
Approach and results
In order to assess the vulnerability of the regions, an analysis of the so-called social infrastructure is carried out in the participating regions. The future composition of the regional systems (population structure, building substance, economic structure) is taken into account and a stakeholder analysis is carried out.
Step 3: Develop and compare measures
Measures and/or strategies
In interdisciplinary discussions, workshops and other innovative formats, the focus is on the cross-sectoral dialogue between regional actors on various fields of action related to climate change adaptation. At the end of the project, a roadmap is available in each region as a dynamic planning document. The results of the regional processes in evolving regions are collected and made available to the regions for further work in this roadmap, which bundles statements about goals, strategies, possible paths to the goal as well as specific individual measures. The roadmap thus serves as a guide for regional actors to strategically plan and implement integrated climate adaptation measures in order to achieve their own goals.
Participants
Funding / Financing
The project is funded by the EU environmental programme LIFE and co-financed by the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection North Rhine-Westphalia.
Project management
Technische Universität Dortmund, Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften, Sozialforschungsstelle
Cooperation/Partners
Partner regions: Kreis Wesel, Kreis Steinfurt, Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein, Kreis Soest, Geemente Zwartewaterland, Kreis Minden-Lübbecke, Kreis Coesfeld, Kreis Lippe
Partner institutions: TU Dortmund Sozialforschungsstelle, TU Dortmund IRPUD, Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik, PROGNOS AG, BEW Bildungszentrum für die Ver- und Entsorgungswirtschaft, Universität Twente, ZDF Digital
