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Oh, hi there! I’m topos, the leading international magazine for urban planning from Munich, Germany. For me, everything revolves around the sustainable city of the future. Online, I spend 365 days a year dealing with the question: how will we live sustainably, healthily and technologized in the world’s future metropolises? In addition to my home www.toposmagazine.com, I am published four times a year as a print magazine (that’s what you are holding in your hands right now!). I address everyone who is interested in the smarter, greener city of the future and who works in, on and with the city. My readers include CEOs, mayors, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, digitalization specialists, researchers – simply everyone that is interested in urban development! My great passion is finding and analyzing…

In 2018 and 2019 the streets of Los Angeles were dyed white, making for bizarre pictures of dancing palm tree shadows on chalky avenues. Yet it was not snowflakes covering the streets, but paint. In an experiment to tackle urban heat islands (UHI) in cities, the City of Angels decided to coat some streets in CoolSeal, a bright paint designed originally for the military to disguise airplanes. The very costly paint is aimed to reflect back sunrays and heat to the atmosphere, in contrast to the dark-colored asphalt of a usual street, which absorbs between 80 and 95 percent of the sun’s rays, heating up not just the streets themselves but the entire surrounding area. This heat also leads to a higher demand of energy, since more air conditioning is…

When the President of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, expressed his doubts in Dubai last year as to whether phasing out fossil fuels, from the sale of which the emirate and Al Jaber naturally profit, would be suitable for meeting a 1.5 degree climate target, there was a fierce outcry. According to him, there is “no science” to this. The fact that the head of an oil company, of all people, can chair an international climate conference, speak there and spread untruths is something the emirate and the COP should be ashamed of. It seems that the powerful of this world would prefer everything to continue as before. However, the recently published report “Unliveable – What the Urban Heat Island Effect Means for East Asia’s Cities” by the World Bank Group…

With temperatures now surpassing 40 degrees Celsius more and more often, Madrid is earning a sad title as one of Europe’s hottest cities. The dry heat in the capital has already led to some deaths directly related to temperature, as well as countless others that are indirectly related. With summer temperatures in Spain predicted to rise by 0.6 to 0.7 degrees in summer every decade, it is high time to look for solutions. One of them is happening in the North of the city at Madrid Nuevo Norte, one of Europe’s largest urban regeneration and infrastructure projects. Reducing temperatures by up to 4 degrees Madrid struggles with urban heat, in particular between the months of May and June, and these heatwaves are coming more and more often. “We have to…

Alto Zürrus Altocirrus clouds are veil clouds consisting of ice crystals at high altitudes. The Zurich Alto Zürrus, an evaporation system designed to cool down the turbine site, is located in slightly lower layers of air, at a height of five meters to be precise. From an outside temperature of 30 degrees, the artificial cloud is automatically switched on and then cools by means of water that is pressed through 180 high-pressure nozzles, atomized and cools the surrounding air through immediate evaporation. The water droplets are so fine that you don't get wet even if you are standing directly under the cloud. The idea of evaporative cooling is an approach often pursued to combat hot spots in the city. Water consumption is a source of criticism, as water is scarce…

Theresa Ramisch studied Urban Planning at the TU Munich. She began working as an editor for G+L and topos in 2016. Since 2021, she has been Editor in Chief for G+L – the leading German magazine for Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. Since 2023, she has been as well Editor in Chief for topos. t.ramisch@georg-media.de Daniella Hirschfeld is an assistant professor at Utah State University in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. Professor Hirschfeld weaves together urban ecology and environmental planning to investigate resilient systems and build bridges between theory and practice. daniella.hirschfeld@usu.edu Julia Maria Korn studied art history, archaeology, and history in Bonn. She joined the team at Georg Media at the beginning of 2024 and is primarily responsible for Restauro magazine. j.korn@georg-media.de Camille Larbey is a…

Urban areas are particularly affected by the effects of increasing heat. In Vienna, too, the average annual temperature and the number of hot days have risen in recent years. The city is predicted to have a subtropical climate by 2050. The citizen science project “Urban Heat Stories” addresses the complex interplay of social, climatic and structural heat factors at the neighborhood level in Vienna and thus seeks dimensions for transformative, social and heat-resilient urban development. In Vienna, there are various studies on the localization of heat islands, taking into account social, structural and climatic factors. The Urban Heat Vulnerability Map (2019), for example, shows heat-vulnerable areas in the city by linking surface temperature and age structure, among other things. Simulations such as the urban climate model PALM-4U (2020) illustrate the…

Heat can kill in three major ways: organ failure, heart attack or kidney failure. Heat is hard work for the human body. It has to ensure that the body temperature does not rise too much, otherwise the structure of the body’s own proteins will be altered, resulting in organ and tissue damage. Humans produce sweat to counteract the damage and cool the body. What is more, the blood vessels also dilate, which in turn lowers the blood pressure, and the heart increases its pumping capacity to regulate it. This can lead to a heat stroke. If left untreated, this will lead to death. In 2017, researchers at the University of Hawaii defined that outdoor temperatures of 37 degrees and above can be dangerous for us. In principle, however, an increased…

A reduction of temperatures through so-called environmental urbanism is a successful experiment that between 2016 and 2019 allowed Medellín to lower the temperature by up to 4.5 degrees Celsius in various places. The 2024-2027 Medellín development plan emphasizes the inclusion of streams, rivers, mountains, and vegetation as articulating elements. The goal of urban planning is to connect them with housing, public transportation, education, and infrastructure for art and social exchange. Medellín is located in a suburban valley, 1,450 meters above sea level. It has 4,217 tributary streams that are part of 56 main tributaries, which flow into the Aburrá River, forming a kind of vascular tissue. Human activity turned them into sewers. By means of treatment plants, collectors and interceptors, Empresas Públicas de Medellín – the water services company –…

Burkina Fasos’ climate zones reflect these influences. In the far north, in the Sahelian zone, there is a warm desert climate in which rainfall can be less than 600 mm per year. The rainy season here sometimes lasts less than two months and temperatures often rise to over 40 degrees during the dry season. The Sudanese zone in the south, on the other hand, is characterized by a tropical savannah climate. Here, the rainy season lasts six months and the monsoon brings rainfall of up to 1100 mm per year to the southern regions. Between the two extremes, the Sudano-Sahelian zone - about half of the country - is subject to a warm, semi-arid climate. Monsoon and harmattan and the balancing act of subarid and subhumid zones from north to…

Tor Alba, Mulegns Tor Alba, the white tower will one day stand in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the village of Mulegns and, once completed, will be the tallest 3D-printed building at a height of 30 meters. With the tower, those responsible at ETH Zurich and Nova Funaziun Origen want to explore and present the possibilities of innovative building construction. And this offers a number of advantages compared to conventional concrete construction. For example, there is no need for formwork, as the concrete is not poured, but extruded layer by layer through a snake-shaped nozzle. This not only saves on construction costs, but also enables construction geometries that were previously unthinkable. Precise placement and dosing means that less concrete is required for the same structural properties. This saves CO2.…

All over the world, cities are looking for sustainable solutions to reduce the rising heat islands. With moderate success. Time for a loud exclamation mark. This summer, the two urban planning magazines G+L and toposmagazine are joining forces as part of the Beat the Heat initiative to promote truly sustainable and solution-oriented ideas together with experts worldwide. Join in and become part of the initiative. Just this May, heatwaves raged again in Mexico and Southeast Asia - many people died from the heat. The increasing heat on our planet is one of the greatest dangers. And this despite the fact that there are already numerous very good ideas, innovations and strategies to combat the urban heat island effect. In collaboration with experts from all over the world, the Beat the…

Frankfurt recognizes the importantce of green and blue in stabilizing the city’s climate. "Adapting to climate change is the central task of providing for the future and services of general interest in Frankfurt," says Rosemarie Heilig, Head of Climate and Environment. The city is adapting the available resources so that climate-adapted measures can be transferred as quickly as possible from a city-wide to a local level. On the one hand, this requires a sound data basis. This is why Frankfurt prepares expert reports, models and simulations. For example, the "Climate Plan Atlas" summarizes knowledge about the urban climate in a comprehensible map format and serves as a basis for assessment. Here, Frankfurt’s heat hotspots are clearly recognizable: wherever high solar radiation, low air exchange and a lack of green spaces…

Under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu, a groundbreaking strategic plan called "Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston" was developed. The plan was created through a rigorous community engagement process conducted in collaboration with a team of consultants spearheaded by the Boston-based firm Sasaki. The plan, recognizing past injustices and ongoing inequities, places equity and justice at the heart of the city’s path forward. It does so, by focussing on five of Boston’s hottest neighborhoods: Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury. These neighborhoods, predominantly low-income and majority-minority communities, have endured the adverse effects of redlining and urban renewal for decades, experiencing daytime temperatures on average 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than Boston’s more affluent and tree-canopied areas. Taking a holistic approach to addressing heat, the plan includes 26 specific strategies in…

It seems to be a well-known phenomenon. Poverty attracts yet more poverty. Or: financially disadvantaged people struggle more with the effects of climate change or other climatic challenges than people who have more money or live in better neighbourhoods. The same seems to be true of the urban heat island effect. Poorer neighbourhoods are affected by this effect more often and more severely than others. Accordingly, poorer people are also confronted with the negative effects of heat islands much more often and more intensely. The devil runs in circles Strictly speaking, it’s a vicious cycle. The vast majority of the world’s metropolises prove day after day that the focus of urban development is much more on well-known or already better-off neighbourhoods. As a result, these neighbourhoods are the first to…

Trained as a landscape architect, Elissavet Bargianni is Chief Heat Officer for Athens, Greece. She studied in Greece and the UK and worked as a landscape architect in the latter. In 2003 she moved from London to Athens in the public sector and has been working for the city and against the heat ever since. As Head of Resilience and Sustainability in Athens, she has set herself the goal of achieving carbon neutrality for the city of Athens by 2030. In 2023, Elissavet Bargianni took over the position of Chief Heat Officer (CHO) from her predecessor Eleni Myrivili. She accepted the post in 2021 and now continues to work as Global Chief Heat Officer for UN-Habitat. The Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation (Arsht-Rock) and the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA) have created…

Kuala Lumpur’s climate, which is warm and humid all year round, is downright stunning. It is strongly influenced by its geographical location on the Malay Peninsula and the influence of the monsoon system. The city is located close to the equator, resulting in a tropical climate characterized by high temperatures and high humidity. Average temperatures remain relatively constant throughout the year, with highs between 30°C and 33°C and lows between 23°C and 24°C. One of the most notable features of Kuala Lumpur’s climate is its distinct rainy season, which lasts from April to October. During this time, monsoon winds bring humid air masses from the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, resulting in frequent and intense rainfall. These rains can often be accompanied by heavy thunderstorms and the…

Due to their morphology – i.e. things like high-rise buildings, densification of built-up areas, concrete urban surfaces and wide thoroughfares as well as human activities like automobile traffic and air-conditioning industries - cities produce urban heat islands (UHIs). During heatwaves, temperatures can be up to 10° higher than in surrounding suburban communities. The first scientific work to explain these phenomena dates back to the 1970s, with geographer Timothy Oke pioneering the understanding of UHIs. But it’s only recently that elected representatives and urban planners have become aware of the urgent need to combat this overheating. The issue is not just the comfort of city dwellers. It is above all a public health issue: In Europe, 62,000 deaths were attributed to the 2022 summer heatwaves, according to teams from ISGlobal (Spain)…

LAS VEGAS The images in this photo series show various cities around the world during particularly hot climatic moments. Like a warning color, the red color in the images represents particularly hot areas, while green or blue indicates cooler areas. The images were taken using the ECOSTRESS (Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) experiment on board the International Space Station, as shown on page 61. The instrument is a multispectral infrared thermometer that can measure surface temperatures from a distance and generate the images you can see on the following pages. They show the different temperatures of our urban structures at a glance and make one thing clear above all: our overly sealed cities could soon become heat traps. ROME PARIS VIENNA MADRID LOS ANGELES BORDEAUX ATHENS…

We need a new understanding of open spaces, because our urban open spaces are subject to the most diverse demands. In the course of redensification, the remaining areas are limited and the planning instruments available for innovation are sometimes restricted. This raises the question of whether the general understanding of open spaces and conventional planning approaches are still fit for purpose if cities are to remain liveable in the future. Thinking of the city vertically as open space is an important approach here. It is worth remembering that this approach, i.e. developing designs based on open space, is not fundamentally new: as we know, it is already common practice in landscape architecture and urban planning to design cities based on open space in the horizontal plane. So if we change…