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Environmental information systems
EN
Objective(s)
The Climate Resilient City Tool (CRCTool) supports the selection of nature-based adaptation options in urban adaptation planning and stakeholder dialogues, to address precipitation, drought and heat hazards.
Short description
The CRCTool explores the spatial planning of adaptation options (mainly nature-based solutions (NBS)) in an urban district. It uses a conceptual urban water balance model to calculate the hydrological effects of solutions that are drawn in by users. The CRCTool can be used on a computer to explore and compare adaptation options, or on a touchscreen for the co-creation of urban designs with stakeholders. These results are shown on a map interface and in an accompanying table. The tool provides information on the hydrological effectiveness and an indication of the construction and maintenance costs.
Free keywords
Climate adaptation planning support, Cities, Nature-Based Solutions, Stakeholder Engagement, Hydrology
Readiness for use
Applications
The CRCTool was developed in 2018 for a Netherlands-wide application and is regularly used by professionals exploring the applicability of urban nature-based solutions. In Athens; it has been used in an urban rehabilitation workshop, and in Gdynia for an online urban densification workshop. In Lillestrom; it was used to introduce NBS to stakeholders. It has also been used outside the EU.
Strengths and weaknesses, comparative added value to other similar tools
Strenghts:
(+) The tool supports open adaptation discussions amongst stakeholders, based on a visually intuitive environment.
(+) It is open and free to use.
(+) It indicates the effectiveness of NBS, supported by a water-balance model.
Weaknesses:
(-) The tool excludes hydraulic processes such as flow routing.
In terms of integration, the tool works particularly well in combination with other vulnerability assessment tools to assess and visualize urban heat island hotspots. It is connected to other tools and frameworks through the REACHOUT Triple-A toolkit. For instance, the heat maps of the Heat Assessment Tool and the vulnerability maps of the SVI-Tool can be inserted as a layer into the CRCTool.
Input(s)
For preparing the tool and configuring the hydrological water-balance model, several datasets are required. Long precipitation and evaporation time series and land use maps can be taken from free EU-wide datasets. These must be complemented with local data on soil and groundwater characteristics, open water and drainage capacity.
Output(s)
The tool produces a map with the selected adaptation options drawn into it. The tool indicates the local hydrological effect of the Nature-Based Solutions (change in infiltration, evaporation, surface runoff), as well as values regarding heat stress reduction and construction/maintenance costs.
The results are shown visually on a map (usually on a district scale), and in a table. The results are calculated instantly on the map and in the table – there is no wait time.
Replicability: Cost/effort for (new) usage
Deltares provides the replication service for other areas for low cost, estimated in 5-7 person-days. If local data is not available, the tool is set up with global and/or EU datasets. When incorporating local datasets, extra time is required for harmonizing datasets (2 days). Further time investments are running the hydrological model (2 days), preparing the online environment (2 days) and selecting/calibrating measures (1 day).
Materials or other support available
There is an extensive public wiki available with information regarding the practical use of the tool and technical background documentation regarding the water balance model.
Website and maintenance
https://publicwiki.deltares.nl/display/AST/Climate+Resilient+City+Tool+Documentation
The tool has been applied in Athens, in Gdynia and in Lillestrom.
Contact
Associated project(s)
National Water and Climate Knowledge and Innovation Programme (NKWK-KBS) (Netherlands) & EU Horizon REACHOUT project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101036599.
The maximum project area is 1x1 km. The tool is most commonly used for exploring and planning adaptation options at the district level.
Typically, small project areas are chosen to represent various urban typologies, facilitating the scaling up of findings. In this way, the CRCTool is also relevant for regional authorities.
Geographical area
Currently, the tool is only available for cities that have been part of CRCTool projects, but it can be applied in the entire EU. See more information below.
Extreme precipitation, mean precipitation, Extreme heat
Chinese (simplified)
This tool is specifically of interest to urban planners, urban decision-makers, and municipalities. The configuration of the tool can be made user-specific by adding or hiding modules in the tool.
“With a thorough introduction to the tool”
No knowledge regarding the water system is expected. A brief introduction to using the tool suffices to support basic use.
Disclaimer
The contents and links to third-party items on this Mission webpage are developed by the MIP4Adapt team led by Ricardo, under contract CINEA/2022/OP/0013/SI2.884597 funded by the European Union and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, CINEA, or those of the European Environment Agency (EEA) as host of the Climate-ADAPT Platform. Neither the European Union nor CINEA nor the EEA accepts responsibility or liability arising out of or in connection with the information on these pages.
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Exclusion of liability
This translation is generated by eTranslation, a machine translation tool provided by the European Commission.