Climate stress test light, Municipality of Arnhem
In the autumn of 2015, the municipality of Arnhem had a climate stress test light conducted with the support of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. No full stress test was conducted, but insight was given into the challenges that the municipality faces, and recommendations were made regarding subsequent steps. The stress test light for Arnhem was carried out for the Zuidelijke Binnenstad (South City Centre) and the Kronenburg district.
Results
The stress test showed that the Zuidelijke Binnenstad – a part of the city centre whose environment is dominated by paving – is particularly vulnerable to flooding and heat stress. It is one of the areas that heats up considerably during long-lasting heat waves (extensive research has been conducted into this issue in recent years). The Kronenburg residential district in Arnhem-zuid is a short distance from the river Rhine, and during design-level high water can be inundated with four metres of water. This makes this area particularly vulnerable to floods. In addition, the area is vulnerable to heat stress due to its large degree of paving. The extent to which Kronenburg, located as it is in a drinking water protection zone, is vulnerable to (groundwater) flooding is unclear. Flood risk management is also a point of focus, particularly for the vital and vulnerable infrastructure and buildings.
Furthermore, it has shown that climate-proofing (residential) districts can easily be integrated into current area taskings and processes in the various districts, by linking climate-adaptive measures to, e.g., restructuring or energy taskings. This fits in with the city’s policy to organise and vest policy implementation at the district level [actually pertains only to restructuring, not to energy].
As a follow-up project, it is recommended that climate adaptation should be implemented via the area-based taskings. In parallel, several concrete technical issues need to be elaborated in more substantive terms, and these insights and knowledge should be shared with all stakeholders.
Contact person
Ronald Bos
Municipality of Arnhem
+31(0)26 37 74 217
ronald.bos@arnhem.nl