Leuphana involved in project on climate adaptation in cities
2024-08-28 Lüneburg/Braunschweig. A newly created "Urban Climate Future Lab" (UCFL) is to provide information on how well cities in Lower Saxony are prepared for the consequences of climate change and how their resilience and sustainability can be improved. The state of Lower Saxony is funding the project with a total of 5 million euros. Professor Dr. Astrid Kause from the Institute of Sustainability Psychology at Leuphana University Lüneburg is one of the scientists involved from a wide range of disciplines.
The UCFL's research work focuses primarily on the interplay between urban development, climate protection and adaptation. The researchers are working on the hypothesis that different urban areas can have different impacts, risks and potentials with regard to climate change, climate protection and adaptation. Innovative planning, mobility, production and energy systems must be developed in order to create sustainable types of buildings, cities and landscapes. The researchers also believe that new formats for citizen participation are necessary.
The sub-project led by Astrid Kause is concerned with citizens' narratives about the risks of climate change in urban areas. It is important to her to understand citizens' perceptions and the obstacles to adapting to climate change. As a first step, she will use interviews and questionnaires to investigate how people perceive gradual and sudden risks and what information needs they have. The findings will then be incorporated into the scenarios of the other working groups. The aim is to develop effective communication measures that help citizens to understand the risks associated with climate change and to adapt to them effectively.
Scientists from the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, the Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon GmbH are working together on the project. The work of the new institution, which will initially run for three years, will begin on October 1 of this year. Following a successful evaluation, the project can be extended for a further three years.
Further information on the project can be found here:
urbanclimatefuturelab.de