Urban vulnerability analysis towards heat based on the example of the city Hanover

Abstract

The exposure to heat is currently seen as the most important direct impact of climate change on human health (Menne 2011: 6f). In areas with high levels of sealing and low aeration, the overheating in cities leads to urban heat islands. This results in an acute need for action for urban and environmental planning to optimally exploit the potential of local measures to mitigate this stress situation for urban residents and to be able to localize the adaptation measures to the changing climate. Against this background, planning action is crucial to the reduction of vulnerability as well as the targeted establishment of adaptation capacities against the effects of climate change (BMVBS 2010: 10). This master-thesis aim to use a GIS-based analysis to accurately identify the vulnerabilities of the city of Hanover against heat (depending on the different adaptive capacities of the room). The work shows that against the background of increasing climate change, the determination of the vulnerability of urban areas plays a central role in maintaining healthy living quality. Furthermore, this work has shown that vulnerability analysis is a central starting point when it comes to identifying vulnerable uses of space against the effects of climate change and making them more adaptable through planning measures.