Research New Ways of Adapting to Extreme Heat in the City
8 August 2024
Heidelberg scientists develop routing service for vulnerable groups
As summer temperatures rise, so do the associated health risks. This is particularly true in urban areas and cities such as Heidelberg with a density of buildings and limited green spaces. The urban heat island effect, which describes the higher temperatures in inner cities compared to surrounding area, leads to an increase in heat-related illnesses, especially among vulnerable demographics such as the elderly, children and people with pre-existing medical conditions. To counteract these consequences of climate change, researchers at Heidelberg University and the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT) have developed strategies to protect vulnerable people during periods of hot weather. With the help of a web-based route planning service, these groups of people can stay mobile in the city, even in extreme heat.
As part of the “Heat Adaptation for Vulnerable Population Groups” (HEAL) project, funded by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation in the “Innovations for Adaptation to Climate Change” programme, sensor data and information on the shade provided by buildings and vegetation are used to calculate routes with lower heat stress. “The HEAL app identifies heat stress along a particular route and then calculates an alternative that avoids main roads with little shade, leading users through parks and shady areas. It also shows the type of path, the surface and the incline along the chosen route. All of this serves to support mobility on hot days and at the same time raise awareness of the effects of climate change,” explains Prof. Dr Sven Lautenbach, geoinformation scientist at Heidelberg University and group leader at the HeiGIT, which is funded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.
To solve the complex problem of urban mobility, the research team relied not only on experts in the field, but also on direct participation by the public. “We chose this path to better understand the various needs of different groups of people. Local actors were systematically included through low-threshold formats such as heat workshops with participatory methods or mobile instant messaging interviews. Through these informal interactions, we were able to identify challenges and needs that might otherwise have gone unnoticed,” explains Dr Kathrin Foshag from the TdLab Geography of the Institute of Geography of Heidelberg University, which conducts transdisciplinary geographical research on climate change and sustainability.
With the involvement of the Geoinformatics Research Group and the Transdisciplinary Geography Lab (TdLab) of Heidelberg University as well as the HeiGIT, the HEAL project combines specialist knowledge from the fields of geography and computer science with elements of geographical health research and methods from the social sciences. It also promotes exchange between theory and practice.
In cooperation with the Heidelberg city administration, the public has access to information on heat adaptation strategies in urban areas in the form of brochures and heat maps of Heidelberg as well as the HEAL app. The project team is currently working on making the approach and the routing application transferable to other cities in Germany.
