Creating space for climate adaptation through shifting to green mobility

By Kaj Kreijen, 2023

Jeroen Langeveld (chair)
Martine Rutten 
Eva Nieuwenhuis (Ambient) 
 

Urbanization, population growth and rapid climate change increase the need for well designed, climate- and water resilient urban areas. The Dutch government has set the goal for water resilient and climate adaptive cities in 2050 in the “Delta Plan Spatial Adaptation” (Deltaplan Ruimtelijke adaptatie), (Rijksoverheid, 2018). Implementing Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) in the urban environment can help to cope with extreme precipitation, restore biodiversity, improve air quality and other urban and climatic challenges (Fenner, 2017).

Simultaneously, urban mobility is changing. Car usage is declining and inhabitants of urban areas, in the Netherlands, make more movements by bicycle, on foot or by public transport (KiM, 2019). Municipalities are actively stimulating urban planning towards healthier, cleaner and more active forms of mobility. In order to cope with increasing urbanization and create a healthy, accessible and pleasant city for their inhabitants. By creating more space for public transport, bicycles and pedestrians, while limiting the available space for roads and cars (Rotterdam, 2020), (Utrecht, 2021).

Insufficient knowledge about how the green mobility transition can contribute to climate adaptation, could result in a great potential loss for BGI. This study aims to make cities more climate and water resilient by estimating and showing that potential, through case studies. Giving more insight in how much urban area could be made available, because of the change in mobility, and showing through some case examples what this could look like at street level.