Project municipality in the federal "Urban Spaces" program

At an event at the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building in Berlin a few days ago, Mayor Jörg Volleth received a funding certificate for projects in the federal program "Adaptation of Urban Spaces to Climate Change". The city of Erlangen will receive a total of 1.25 million euros for its project "Grün findet Innenstadt - Cool trees for the pedestrian zone".

Increasing the capacity to absorb heavy rainfall

Federal Minister Klara Geywitz handed over the funding certificate. With the program, the ministry is supporting, among other things

• making green spaces fit for the climatic conditions of the future
• unsealing areas and
• strengthen biodiversity.

"We need to rebuild our cities and communities. We need to increase their capacity to absorb heavy rainfall and at the same time prepare them for periods of drought," said Minister Geywitz.

Climate-active spaces for the city center

Many areas of the pedestrian zone in the old town are almost treeless. "Green-blue" islands are to be created there. This was decided by the city council's environment, transport and planning committee last fall. The aim is to create climate-active spaces in the city center. To this end, trees are to be planted in root trenches that are as large as possible and have a water retention function (tree trenches).

Where this is not possible, raised beds, some with seating, will be installed and planted with climate-active plants. Parts of the pedestrian zone, which is currently fully paved, will thus be unsealed or made permeable. Rainwater can be allowed to seep into the ground to feed the trees.