Partnering up for urban heat resilience
UrbanCommunity Experiment Recap (Erzsébetváros Municipality, Hungary)
The CoolCo’s (Cooling Corners & Corridors) project focused on small-scale, modular urban space transformation, has been successfully initiated in partnership with the Municipality of Erzsébetváros. This project targets densely populated neighborhoods with low heat resilience, aiming to create adaptive urban spaces that serve as community spots where residents can relax, hydrate, and connect in shaded areas.
The project emphasizes co-design, actively involving local vulnerable groups and local governments in the transformation process. This approach empowers disadvantaged communities by engaging them in the redesign of their neighborhoods, providing targeted education on individual and community adaptation to climate change.
We selected the urban space in front of Bethlen Téri Színház as the project site. Together with the theatre employees and the local government, we organized two events aimed at raising awareness and experimenting with urban space design.
Awareness-Raising Event (May 10, 2024):
This event was dedicated to raising awareness about climate change and heat adaptation. It featured four interactive stations where residents engaged in playful activities and received expert information on climate change impacts, heat adaptation strategies, and actionable steps they could take. The event successfully informed and engaged the community, fostering a deeper understanding of the importance of heat adaptation.
Co-Design Workshop (June 21, 2024):
The second event focused on experimenting with CoolCo’s modular urban furniture. Participants, including local residents and stakeholders, explored different configurations of the modular elements to redesign the public space in front of the theater. This hands-on workshop generated valuable insights into how the space could be transformed to better serve the community’s needs.
Through these activities, the project has laid a strong foundation for fostering just heat adaptation in Erzsébetváros, demonstrating the potential of co-designed, modular urban spaces in creating resilient and inclusive neighborhoods.
This blog was written by our UrbanCommunity experimenter Zsófia Ghira, with light editing from us. It is part of a series of narrative reports on how the experimenters have used the UrbanCommunity micro-funds to collaborate with their local government towards sustainable and just cities.
