On September 25th 2024, the seminar “Integral Programming with Climate Adaptation” brought together professionals from various Dutch municipalities to discuss the integration of climate adaptation into urban programming. The Green Team project was also invited to give a presentation. The event was organised by Samen Klimaatbestendig, KANS, and Foundation Adaptatie Atelier (partner Green Team project).
Written by Maxime Rekkers & Tirza Pulleman
Challenges faced in the Netherlands
Because of a scarcity of time, space money and capacity, it is becoming more and more challenging to develop and implement coherent projects in the public space of (Dutch) municipalities. That is why a different approach needs to be found. Instead of working sectoral- and project-based, municipalities are looking to urban programming as a way to work holistic and integrally.
While this sounds very challenging, the municipalities of Utrecht and Groningen have made headway. They shared their experiences. Utrecht has been able to work area-based by following the principle of “unequal investments to create equal opportunities". They use the status of their sewage system to determine in which areas to invest. The areas with the biggest need for an updated sewage system often overlap with areas that face many other problems, making it the perfect place to work integrally and include other improvements. However, they still find it difficult to also include climate adaptive measures like desealing and greening. The municipality of Groningen is taking a slightly different approach by focussing on their long-term investment planning and finding linking opportunities there for departments to work together.
Presenting Green Team
In other words, this seminar was the perfect opportunity to introduce the Green Team project. We do aim to include desealing, greening and other greenblue measures when working integrally on public spaces. And we are also looking for linking opportunities in long-term investment plannings of local governments. Moreover, we offer a different perspective because we are working on a much smaller level. Whilst Utrecht and Groningen have large organisations with the resources to work on these subjects, our focus is on smaller municipalities that often do not even have a special team or budget for climate adaptation. In short: there is a lot we can learn from each other!
Tirza Pulleman (Province of Antwerp) presenting Green Team in Utrecht
Great feedback
The Green Team project was met with great interest from the audience. A notable question from the audience was about our method: to foster integral collaboration (a Green Team) by starting on a smaller theme. Does that not lead to a potential risk of missing out on the opportunity of truly working systemically together as a municipality? However, starting small allows for the process to be tested and refined before being applied across the entire municipality. This method helps in gaining buy-in from colleagues and demonstrating the project’s effectiveness without significant additional time investment.
The seminar was highly engaging and informative. The Green Team’s presentation was well-received and created anticipation for our promised method and tools. We also look forward to learning more about the work in progress in Utrecht and Groningen. If you want to stay updated on how the Green Team is approaching this theme, keep an eye out for our newsletter and LinkedIn-page.
The Green Team project was invited to talk at the seminar ‘Integral urban programming’ in Utrecht on September 25th, 2024, by the organisers Samen Klimaatbestendig, KANS, and Foundation Adaptatie Atelier. Other attendees included 15 Dutch municipalities, research institutions, the Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten (VNG), Rijkswaterstaat and the ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat.