Climate adaptation and landscape planning ExWoSt model area Bad Liebenwerda - Strategies of landscape planning and open space design for adaptation to climate change

Bad Liebenwerda, a town with about 10,000 inhabitants, is located in the south of Brandenburg.

The study was used to develop the content-related basis for an ExWoSt project (ExWoSt stands for "Experimenteller Wohnungs- und Städtebau" - experimental housing and urban planning) in the area of "Urban Strategies for Climate Change". The aim was to clarify what effects climate change will have on a rural urban area, what the adaptive capacity of the area is and what approaches to action can be pursued.

The city of Bad Liebenwerda was selected as a model area within the framework of the ExWoSt project "Urban Strategies for Climate Change - Municipal Strategies and Potentials" of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS) and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). The ExWoSt model project aims to realise climate change-compatible urban development primarily through integrated approaches to climate change adaptation by means of precautionary planning in the city and urban region.

As part of the ExWoSt contribution, Fugmann Janotta office in cooperation with Dr. Sven Rannow was commissioned to first determine the local vulnerability of the city of Bad Liebenwerda to the potential impacts of climate change using two studies that build on each other, and then to develop approaches for adapting to climate change.

The town of Bad Liebenwerda is a spa town in the Elbe-Elster district in the state of Brandenburg, through which the Schwarze Elster, a tributary of the Elbe, flows and which has a large number of clinic and recreational facilities.

For the study on the local impact of the town, possible climatic changes, the so-called 'exposure' in Bad Liebenwerda, were determined by evaluating various regional climate models and compared with potential impacts of climate change. With the help of a GIS-based spatial analysis and a strengths and weaknesses analysis for risk assessment it was possible to assess the town's vulnerability to individual aspects of climate change. In order to establish the best possible local reference, the population as well as representatives from politics and administration were involved in the analysis within the framework of workshops.

Due to the model character of the study, great importance was attached to an easy-to-use assessment of exposure using indicators from readily available and widely used maps. The statements of the landscape plan and the landscape framework plan as well as the land use plan for the urban area were the decisive information basis.

As a result, longer periods of heat as well as an increased risk of property damage and personal injury due to extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall or storm events were identified as particularly significant for the urban area. The spa business and the proximity of the core town to the Schwarze Elster river were decisive for this assessment.

Based on the results of the impact analysis, a climate change adaptation strategy for the city of Bad Liebenwerda was developed in the form of a concept of measures for selected impact factors. The concept focused on the impacts with the highest impact. These were thermal comfort and the risk of flooding from the Schwarze Elster. Two approaches were followed. Firstly, an 'integration plan for climate adaptation' was developed for the existing landscape plan of the city, which presents the goals and measures for climate adaptation. It is to be taken into account as a basis for future planning. On the other hand, the implementation strategy pursued the development of concrete projects that were derived from the representations of the integration plan and through which practical effects were to be achieved in a timely manner. In selecting suitable measures for the adaptation concept, the no-regret approach was followed. Accordingly, the measures should serve other aspects in addition to the adaptation benefit and develop a broad spectrum of effects in order to increase the efficiency and acceptance of the measures.

The selected individual measures of the concept, which were included in the integration map, include the preservation and development of air flow paths and cold air production areas, breaks in the landscape through the replanting of trees and the creation of hedgerows, the creation of open water areas, making ground permeable for water again and a combination of several measures in one area to create "cool spots". The latter are places in densely built-up heat-sensitive parts of Bad Liebenwerda that create cooling effects through the use of shady vegetation and open water circuits. The enumeration makes it clear that a large number of the individual measures are already an integral part of landscape plans or represent a further differentiation of the existing possibilities for improving the bioclimate. The measures of the concept therefore do not represent fundamentally new approaches to action, but they are of much greater importance due to climate change.

The creation of new water areas pursued with the project approach focuses on the opening of a piped ditch system in the core city. In addition to contributing to climate adaptation through cooling effects in extreme heat and the binding of dust, the measure also aims at flood protection. The measure also enhances the cityscape and promotes new opportunities for water-based recreational use.

The redesign of the ditches ranges from the creation of near-natural and park-like areas to the installation of waterfront seating and the development of a ditch section where children can gain experience with the element of water. The restoration of a historic ditch is also linked to the construction of a small boat harbour. In this way, the measures can fulfil multiple functions for both climate adaptation and urban development in the sense of the "no-regret approach".

The ExWoSt model project of the city of Bad Liebenwerda shows how the initially thematically focussed processing focus of climate adaptation can lead to synergy effects through a linkage with other concerns of urban development. The measures would only have been justified to a limited extent on the basis of cooling effects on hot summer days alone. Only by including other positive development opportunities for the core city in the conception and pointing out further development possibilities does the project approach unfold its effectiveness.