Urban planning based on climatic aspects

The city of Jena has developed a comprehensive urban climate concept that serves as the basis for sustainable and climate-adapted urban development. This concept, which will be presented to the city council for approval on Wednesday, takes into account the pressing challenges of climate change and offers concrete recommendations for action in urban planning.

Reducing the impact of climate change

The city of Jena strives to remain an attractive place to live and work despite increasing heat waves and the effects of climate change. Since 2013, the city has been pursuing the goal of climate-friendly urban development with the Jena Climate Adaptation Strategy (JenKAS). The new urban climate concept builds on this strategy and focuses on the issues of "heat load and ventilation" in the city. The aim is to create a planning basis that reduces the effects of overheating and inadequate ventilation in the city.

"The urban climate concept is an important step towards making Jena fit for the future. It provides a comprehensive basis for making Jena more climate-resilient and successfully meeting the challenges of climate change. By integrating climate-related findings into urban planning and land-use planning, the city is being put on a sustainable course for the coming decades," emphasizes Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche.

Urban planning based on climatic aspects

A key result of the urban climate concept is the integration of climatic aspects into future urban planning. The concept will be included in the update of the land use plan and will also be incorporated into binding urban land use planning. A climate map provides important information on green spaces, cold air channels and fresh air supply. Settlement areas that are particularly susceptible to heat are given priority for heat-reducing measures. Urban redevelopment offers an opportunity to actively adapt the city to climate change. The planning information map identifies so-called 'residential heat stress focus areas' - residential areas with high thermal stress and above-average population density, such as the city center, Wenigenjena, Magdelstieg or Lobeda-Altstadt.

"In order to successfully master the challenges of the climate crisis in the coming decades, climate aspects must be firmly anchored in urban planning. The early consideration of climate adaptation measures in all areas of urban development is an important milestone: in this way, we improve the quality of life of all people in Jena - especially those who are most vulnerable - and make an important contribution to preserving our environment and nature," emphasizes Kathleen Lützkendorf, Head of the Department for Social Affairs, Health, Immigration and Climate.

Promotion of climate-adapted construction measures

A further step towards implementing climate adaptation measures is the creation of binding guidelines for climate-adapted construction methods and open space design. In addition, the existing funding program "Green Oases in Jena" will be continued and expanded. Among other things, it promotes measures such as green roofs and façades as well as the unsealing of open spaces and tree planting. The aim is to motivate citizens to make their own contribution to improving the urban climate.

Creation of the urban climate concept

The urban climate concept was developed in collaboration with Geo-Net Umweltconsulting GmbH and discussed in several workshops and working groups within the city administration. It comprises a three-stage analysis that includes high-resolution urban climate modeling, the assessment of climatic impacts and the creation of a planning information map with specific recommendations for action. Particular emphasis is placed on the 69 land use plan development areas that were examined for their urban climate compatibility. Individual fact sheets with planning recommendations were created for 55 of these land use plan areas.