Results from the workshop "A Dutch–U.S. Dialogue on Governance Capacity for Extreme Heat"

On Wednesday 4 November US and Dutch participants gathered to discuss what issues we encounter when governing heat in our respective countries. We had visitors from municipalities, safety regions, public health organizations, RIVM, academic institutes, and more. Below we compile the results of the day. The sections include: main findings, program and slides, video segments from the US, participant contact information, and photos (gathered in the coming week). 

Main findings: For the Netherlands, while extreme heat is managed by the ministry of public health, and response procedures to heat are well embedded in more regional institutions, addressing the real issue of infrastructure would mean creating and bridging the gap with other fields and institutes. The calls to action were shared among many participants, with quotes such as "heat is everywhere, we need a new way of looking at it", "heat is everyone's problem and no one's responsibility", and "we have to be preventative in our heat governance". 

Our program consisted of four parts, each led by a different project co-organizer. You can find the related slides in the table below. 

Part	Main goal	Main question	Organizer
Part 1 – Getting to know one another	Understand	What heat-risk challenges are we trying to govern?	Sean Vrielink – University Twente
Part 2 – Survey results	Diagnose	How capable is our current governance system?	Namkyung Oh – Auburn University
Part 3 – Panel discussion	Explain	Why do these capacity gaps persist?	Su Li Heng – TU Delft
Part 4 – Interactive co-development of solutions	Act	How could governance capacity be strengthened?	Srijith Balakrishnan – TU Delft
Wrap up	Summarize	What do you take with you?	Sean Vrielink – University Twente

As there was limited funding, and the time difference with the US did not allow for as many visitors to attend online, several heat experts in the US were interviewed beforehand and segments of these interviews were shown during parts 1 and 2. You can find these segments below.

 

 Overview of participants and their contact information:

Name	Organization	Email address
Liam Boedhoe	Team crisis management Safety Region Twente	l.boedhoe@vrtwente.nl
Linda Jansen	Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center	e.g.j.jansen@erasmusmc.nl
Megan Heim-LaFrombois	Associate Professor Political Science	meh0085@auburn.edu
Patrick Klaassen	GGD Nijmegen	pklaassen@ggdgelderlandzuid.nl
John Morris	Auburn University	jcm0143@auburn.edu
Steven van der Lelie	Public Health service in North Gelderland	s.vanderlelie@ggdnog.nl
Elena Bakhanova	University Twente	e.bakhanova@utwente.nl
Hanin Boulahfa	GHOR veiligheidsregio Utrecht	h.boulahfa@vru.nl
Kathleen Halpin	Louisville Mayor's Office (Kentucky)	Kathleen.Halpin@louisvilleky.gov
Mathijs van Oostrum	Municipality of Hardenberg	mathijs.vanoostrum@hardenberg.nl
Werner Hagens	RIVM	werner.hagens@rivm.nl
Beau Warbroek	University Twente	w.d.b.warbroek@utwente.nl
Eli Brouwer	Municipality The Hague	eli.brouwer@denhaag.nl
Zakia Sultana	Utrecht University	z.sultana@uu.nl

Photos (more uploaded later) 

 

Photo competition winner

The organization KAN (climate adaptive building) organized a photo contest last September for the theme 'abundant nature in new housing developments'. I submitted several photos of green infrastructure in my home town and was one of the three winners, and now owner of a splendid green architecture book.

The assignment was specifically focusing on "photos of biodiverse gardens, flower beds, and outdoor spaces in new construction projects. Examples include:
· a variety of native plant species;
· food, shelter, and nesting sites for insects, birds, and other animals;

· less paving or permeable paving, so that rainwater can infiltrate more easily;
· trees, shrubs, or climbing plants for shade and cooling;
· water collection: a pond, rain barrel, or rain garden;
· management practices that support biodiversity, such as mowing less frequently or leaving leaves on the ground."

While it was tough to find any insect hotels in common, public areas, there were plenty of places with new blue-green infrastructure. There are playgrounds with permeable tiles, retention areas, decoupled rain storage through entire streets, diverse vegetation and less frequent mowing. It is merely a pity the concepts aren't applied everywhere. Below is a selection of some of the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The green architecture book is a fine example of how ecologists and designers can develop a natural environment in our often too concrete jungle. I am interested to test the climate resilience of the various buildings constructed in this plan. 

 

 

 

 

 

Climate Week in the Netherlands

During Climate Week University Twente has several events, though just one is listed on the national website. This event is from the startup Ennor, who can analyze your website and show how it can be programmed to be more sustainable. We often don't think about how much energy it costs to store or send data. Plus, if you visit their website you can now try their services for free!