Engaging local communities in heatwave preparedness and response: a dialogue with the city of Malmö and Valencia

This event is part of a series of four online peer-learning sessions that will be held until April 2025 and will involve the pilots of the Adaptation AGORA project, addressing key issues related to climate adaptation and public participation. This series of events aims to foster the exchange of knowledge, resources and methodologies that can facilitate public participation in Climate Adaptation Plans in different European cities, regions and communities.

Date

December 5^th 2024 at 10:00-11.30 CET

Background

How are cities dealing with disaster response in relation to heat waves? What engagement strategies do cities put in place to effectively reach and support local communities during extreme heat events?    

As part of the Adaptation AGORA project, on December 5th, an online event titled “Engaging local communities in heatwave preparedness and response: a dialogue with the cities of Malmö and Valencia” focused on inclusive engagement strategies for adaptation to extreme heat events. The session provided the space to share insights, challenges, and practical approaches or solutions on how to best engage and protect local communities, especially the groups who are disproportionately affected by heatwaves. 

There were four key speakers at the event: 

• Emanuel Toft, Project Research Officer, City of Malmo
• Ludwig Sonesson, Climate Adaptation Strategist, City of Malmo
• Mathilda Englund, Doctoral Student, Stockholm Environment Institute and Linköping University
• Emilio Servera-Martinez, European Projects Officer at València Clima i Energia, Valencia City Council

The webinar was held in English, and the recording can be found below.  

Key messages: 

During the peer-to-peer learning exchange, the representatives from Malmö (pilot city within Adaptation AGORA) and from Valencia (one of the project’s Followers), have shared challenges, tools and practices aimed at addressing heat vulnerability and fostering the engagement of vulnerable communities in heatwaves preparedness and response.  

The exchange was organised around three main topics, and below you can find the key messages and insights from the engaging discussion: 

1. What is the heat context in Malmö and Valencia? 

• The city of Malmö has historically prioritized winter-proof infrastructure and only recently, due to temperature rising and heat trap effects, is taking steps to incorporate heat vulnerability considerations into urban planning.  

• The city of Valencia has more experience with heat issues and has a series of strategies and frameworks in place to tackle it, such as an early warning system coordinated as part of the Regional Heatwave Programme and multiple strategies addressing heat from several perspectives. 

2. Who is vulnerable and where? 

• In the context of Malmö, while socio-economic status often indicates potential vulnerability, cultural and social resilience sometimes lessen heat-related impacts. However, critical issues such as high indoor temperatures, poor ventilation and social isolation persisted as significant concerns. 

• In the context of Valencia, citizens’ vulnerability is strictly connected to the urban heat island effect. However, urban morphology and the different distribution of services and green infrastructure can lead to different sensitivity to heat and adaptive capacities in different areas. 

• Other important factors to consider when mapping vulnerability are the role of cultural adaptive capacities (beyond physical ones) and social capital and trust in local authorities. 

3. Key strategies to increase heatwave preparedness. 

• Adapt the built environment to reduce over-reliance on air conditioning and the effect of heat traps  

• Embed heat adaptation into urban infrastructure and planning, including low-tech cooling solutions, and upscaling cooling (climate) shelters. 

• Prioritize investments and interventions based on vulnerability mapping from different perspectives. 

• Increase the number of training programs and educational workshops targeting behavioural shifts, also with the help of social networks. 

• Identify and support hard-to-reach groups like homeless individuals and pregnant women, though the engagement of proxies and the collaboration with local organisations and associations already working with vulnerable groups.  

To learn more about the event and the discussion, please check out the article. To continue the exchange, visit the dedicated Forum Post on the Adaptation AGORA Community Hub. 
 
Here you can find some useful resources shared during the event: