Warm weather in winter, frost fluctuations in spring, flash floods at any time. The frequency and intensity of extreme meteorological fluctuations is increasing not only in the Czech Republic. It is predicted that by the end of the 21st century, extremely hot summers may occur up to four times more often than before.
Climate changes also affect people’s physical and mental health. In the last twenty years, we have observed an increasing trend in the number of deaths caused by extremely hot days. Between 2010 and 2019, compared to the previous two decades, the risk of dying from the heat even doubled.
“The average temperature in the Czech Republic has increased by 2.1 C since 1960. Although the average annual precipitation is still similar, the soil and plants suffer during the year. Why? Heat waves and long periods of drought alternate with torrential rains. The cities are not prepared for these rains, the water does not have time to soak into the soil, it flows into the sewers and remains unused by the plants. It remains hot and dry,” explains conference sponsor and landscape architect Jana Pyšková, and adds to the planned event: “We translate sustainability as sustainability, but I think a more appropriate term would be survival – which actually means survival. Plans for mitigation and adaptation to climate change must be long-term, but we can and must act step-by-step.” According to Pyšková, the good news is that great experts and inspiration from good projects are increasing both here and abroad. Landscape architecture plays a major role in this, as it looks at problems comprehensively and holistically, and it is natural for it to count not only with man, but also with nature, even in the built environment. At the same time, he emphasizes measures close to nature, which are simpler, cheaper and less vulnerable than technical ones. “The Urbanscapes 2024 PRAGUE conference will be a good place to share good solutions and innovative practices. We brought together inter-branch teams to present diverse projects; not only big but also small cities can follow them. Participants will learn how the adaptation strategy of Prague and the Tree Line Standards and blue-green infrastructure are successfully applied in practice.”
Dutch landscape architect John Boon will present his “healthy city index”, which he verified in the Amsterdamse Poort project, and which he says: “In hot cities, I recommend creating ‘cool’ places, preferably within 200 m of each house.” Austrian urban planner Lorenz Potocnik from Linz+ will point out the dangerous risks of greenwashing in urban politics. Dorte Buchardt Westergaard and Greta Tiedje from the Danish studio Henning Larsen will present specific sustainable elements in their winning project Nový Hlavák.
Kateřina Dusová, a young Czech landscape architect living in Canada, will talk about the rapidly developing Rain City Strategy as a key element of urban planning in Vancouver, which aims to capture 90% of the average annual rainfall in a way close to nature. Michal Fišer and his Belgian partner Peter Swyngedauw will present sensitive and sustainable solutions, thanks to which they won the international competition to solve the Rohan Island.
The event is organized by the Czech Association for Landscape Architecture (ČAKA, section SZKT), the Institute of Landscape Architecture FA CTU and the Department of Environmental Projects, OCP MHMP.
The conference is intended for landscape and construction architects, urban planners and spatial planners, horticulturists, arborists, engineers, employees of state and local governments and other institutions, the academic sector including students, developers and project managers of construction companies, non-profit organizations and lay people interested in the topic.
Simultaneous interpretation of foreign lectures will be provided.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
What should a pleasant and lively urban landscape look like? How to adapt it to climate change?
How to organize public space for people, technical and transport infrastructure, water, natural elements and animals? How to plan cities innovatively and effectively and not resign to aesthetics and harmony? How to support ecosystems so that they help us?
The Urbanscapes Prague 2024 conference is a place for sharing good solutions and innovative practices
Come to listen and discuss how to combine your knowledge in multidisciplinary collaboration for the future of cities.
ORGANIZER:
The event is organized by the Czech Association for Landscape Architecture (ČAKA, section SZKT), the Institute of Landscape Architecture FA CTU and the Department of Environmental Projects, OCP MHMP.
PARTNER:
Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague (IPR)
AUSPICES:
Czech Chamber of Architects (the conference is included in the ČKA lifelong learning system)
Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík
SPONSOR OF THE NETWORKING EVENING:
DELTALIGHT
Registration and more information: www.caka.cz
Tags: URBANSCAPES PRAGUE Urban landscape adaptation interdisciplinary topic
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