Future proofing cities – resilience in redesign

Staying streets ahead with space data and more

Sustainable cities are an absolute necessity and no longer just a wishlist. Earth observation data from the EU’s Copernicus satellites already plays a vital role in achieving that goal, for example by guiding urban planners. But how can Europe’s metropolises, citizens and politicians best tap into this rich new resource?

“We need more resilient and greener cities or we’re doomed!” said Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Insights at Friends of Europe, while moderating the online debate on ‘Future proofing cities – resilience in design’ on 9 June 2020. “Cities are highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and crises like the COVID-19 virus, but they are also potentially at the vanguard of positive change.”

Kanani noted the urgency of acting, because 55% of the global population lives in a city and this figure is expanding fast. Moreover, cities in Europe and beyond face numerous social and economic challenges in a post-pandemic world.

The debate revolved around solutions offered by the Copernicus satellites network. “They offer a unique view of the planet and its changes, providing essential data for urban planners and managers,” said Josef Aschbacher, from the European Space Agency. He highlighted the ability to identify urban heat islands or flood-risk areas. Digital Twin Earth and the World Settlement Footprint – the agency’s two data-based foresight tools – will become increasingly valuable for city leaders and politicians.

Satellite data is crucial for cities, acknowledged Hans Bruyninckx, from the European Environment Agency. Yet their challenge is to harness all this data and other technologies, while striving for the sustainable and thriving cities promoted by the EU’s Green Deal. “EEA’s core contribution is to connect solid data to systemic transition, as well as to monitor environmental progress and help policymakers,” he added.

Covenant of Mayors is a great benchmark

Cities are well placed to help themselves, such as the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, now supported by over 10,100 local authorities. Bruyninckx remarked that they can all tell a “good story” to their citizens, about the pursuit of healthier and cleaner cities, but they need more investment support.

Mayors play an important role in urban improvements, but struggle with EU institutions’ scatter-gun policy approach to cities. Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament, said the problem is that cities, urban planning and land use are unfortunately not an EU competence. She called for major cities to band together to solve their common climate, biodiversity and socio-economic issues.

That was my objective when I set up the City Science Initiative, said Caroline Nevejan, the City of Amsterdam’s Chief Science Officer: “It brings together 20 major European cities and speeds up their ability to approach the EU institutions with urban science and policy concerns.” Nevejan added that satellite data is great for increasing cities’ awareness of their built environment. But cities must redesign their planning databases to increase diversity and avoid excluding poorer citizens or those from immigrant backgrounds.

“Our dense and overcrowded cities are dangerous pressure cookers, so we need to act on all the wonderful information from satellites and make better urban policy,” concluded the moderator. Citizens must also be empowered to use that data, on the path to cleaner and better cities.