National climate expo

Two days of national climate expo in Houten. I visited only the second day due to teaching. 

This was a great chance to learn more about research developments on urban heat and green infrastructure through the various sessions (in Dutch), as well as to meet potential organizations to develop new MSc theses projects with. And of course to see our current collaborators from Dakbloemenweide.

 

From the first session I learned that on average greenery leads to 30-50% of cooling in cities and a drop of 3 degrees Celsius of the Urban Heat Island effect. The type of green, the species, size, amount, and surroundings greatly impact this capacity. A tree with full access to the subsurface can cool 5 times as much as a tree planted directly surrounded by pavement. There was a new guidebook showing for the current common species how effective they are in our current weather, which is most suited for high precipitation, heat, and drought. More info here.

Another session by WUR researchers showed that when making appartment complexes more sustainable, a third of complicating issues had to do with heat and the surfaces surrounding the buildings. There is still a lot we can change by futureproofing these types of houses. It also had results of interviews of how people view and use their garden. Some people don't have any space or any time to use what they have, or purely want it as extension from their hourse, whereas others are more nature oriented and prefer to be heavily involved in managing every plant. Others still let nature run its course and intervene little. This is something to take into account when designing green spaces, to allow for various degrees of interaction and use. More info here.

It was good to see different municipalities having an integrated approach to greening urban areas, and very recognizable to see the difficulties they must overcome in relating needs of greenery to people from other knowledge fields. People still often think trees can be put anywhere, but forget about the subsurface space required, which is at least as much beneath the ground as above ground.