CASE Amersfoort
To deal with the effects of climate change our cities have to be redesigned. In Amersfoort, one of the key challenges for the upcoming decades is to redesign the city in a climate-adaptive way. By implementing measures against water- and heat problems (to counter-act risks such as flooding and the result of urban heat island effects) and by measuring whether these measures work in the way we intended, Amersfoort wants to build on what it present today: a comfortable city to live, work, visit and recreate. Therefore, Amersfoort plays an active role in the European project SCOREwater.
By joining project SCOREwater Amersfoort aims to increase insight in the effectiveness of climate-adaptive measures by deploying a sensor-network, developed in co-creation with citizens. This input will be complemented by digital models, used to assess whether the city is and remains to be climate-resilient. SCOREwater is one of the projects in the program ‘Amersfoort Smart City’, in which we assess whether the use of data and technology can help us to do our work more effectively and efficiently.
The project will focus on two geographical areas:
- The Amersfoort Central Railway Station is an area that is planned to change heavily in de upcoming years. One of the issues in this area is that predictions show high risks of flooding and of heat stress. Furthermore, it has proven to be difficult to store use water effectively and to use it to make the area greener, which is necessary to make the area more climate resilient. By deploying sensors and using digital models, we intend to gain more insight into how to effectively store, manage and use different types of water (specifically: ground water and precipitation) and to deal with heat in this area. This information will be used to assess the effectiveness of changes in the area and to include stakeholders in the development of a climate-resilient area.
- The neighbourhood of Schothorst is a pilot area for testing climate adaptive measures. Currently, the area has problems with drainage causing a risk of flooding. Flooding is mostly an issue at times of heavy rainfall, which is expected to get worse in the future. Furthermore, extended periods of draught cause issues in the area. More effective use of infiltration methods and methods to retain water are necessary to make the area more climate resilient. By using sensors to measure what is happening and combining this information with the development of hydrological and ground water models we will gain a deeper understanding of whether the area is and will be climate resilient in the future.
All data gathered will be fed into the SCOREwater platform and all lessons learned will be shared with the SCOREwater community.