Pilot 2 Atlantic Climate Zone

Demonstration of the multi-dimensional value of collaboratively greening the regeneration of a public square with historical buildings within the Atlantic climate zone.

City of Leuven: The Pater Damiaanplein in Leuven’s historical center is surrounded by significant buildings, including a church, university buildings, schools, and residences. Currently paved, the square has become neglected despite past temporary installations. The city of Leuven aims to transform this space into a green area to boost biodiversity, capture and store carbon, counter the heat-island effect, and enhance resilience to rainfall and drought. The redesign will involve local stakeholders, creating a shared space for citizens, and draw inspiration from the site’s cultural heritage, with the church being the resting place of Father Damian.

City of Aarhus: The City of Aarhus, in collaboration with URBREATH partners, is committed to enhancing and refining the OpenCityPlanner 3D model. This project involves integrating new data layers focused on green urban planning, specifically emphasizing multifunctional Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in city planning. We aim to enrich the 3D model by incorporating social and political dimensions essential for effective climate adaptation and urban greening initiatives.

Our focus extends to addressing political and communicative requirements inherent in urban greening and city planning within a specific area of central Aarhus. Throughout the project, Aarhus will actively involve various stakeholders from the city administration, including the offices of Urban Spaces, Water Management, Digitalisation, as well as representatives from sports and leisure, local civic associations, and joint citizens’ councils.

This collaborative effort will be spearheaded by the Chief Architect to the City of Aarhus, working closely with counterparts from pilot city Leuven and BLOXHUB.