Saarland Regional Report - C-Change

3. Objectives Addressed
The main questions addresed were:
• How can regions and cities adapt to the
consequences of climate change
• What role do open spaces play when it comes to
adaptation
• What can be done in the urban and regional planning
to further mitigation and adaptation measures
• How can we interlink the different planning levels in
order to coordinate adaptation and mitigation strategies
• Is it necessary to readjust existing planning tools and
processes
• How can local stakeholders be actively involved into
current planning processes as well as in the actual
implementation of measures
4. Results and Conclusions
In the Saarland, C-Change involves the pursuit of
integrated spatial planning approaches designed to
incorporate the cross-sectional theme of climate change
in various levels of spatial planning – from the state
planning via the activities in the regional planning
association of Saarbrücken and inter-municipal action
programmes through to the planning of urban open
spaces – and network them intensively. Climate change
is hence not, as is so often the case, processed
independently of current planning processes, but instead
embedded in them. Only this way can possible target
conflicts between, for example, the expansion of
regenerative energy and climate adaptation measures,
or also between the concepts of compact vs. climateadapted
city.
The C-Change project in Saarbrücken but also the
results at state level furthermore demonstrate the central
importance of open spaces for climate change-proof
urban development, and elaborate concrete proposals
for securing and/or upgrading climate-relevant open
spaces. The results of Saarbrücken within the framework
of the ExWoSt research programme are systematised
and can also be applied in other cities.
The C-Change projects additionally show which basic
data are meaningful and required for urban strategies
addressing climate change and how necessary it is to
integrate new approaches such as vulnerability analyses
into spatial planning procedures. The readjustment of
existing planning tools and processes is necessary. That
means existing spatial planning procedures need to be
adjusted correspondingly to the challenges related to
climate change. The answers for the design of the
planning tools are meant to provide models for an
effective approach to the subject of climate change,
whilst bridging the gap to the actual implementation
of measures.
The dialogue at local level proved how important
communication and participation strategies are as the
necessity of adaptation is hardly perceived by most local
actors – in contrast to the importance of climate
protection and the development of renewable energies.
Within the context of the city of Saarbrücken’s open
space project, broad citizens‘ involvement – regarding
„heavy rains“ in the sense of a risk governance
approach, and regarding thermal stress as a broadly
designed discussion process – showed how important
tailor-made concepts of participation processes are.
5
Regional Park Forum 2012 on Climate Change
(source: Dirk Michler)