České Budějovice’s citizens pinpoint locations in need of improvement

Residents are urged to identify areas that are prone to overheating or flooding in extreme weather

Recently, the Czech Municipality of České Budějovice began working on the development of an adaptation strategy that will help prepare the city for the current and future impacts of climate change. Last month, representatives from several organisations spoke to various vulnerable groups (such as the elderly, disabled individuals, and parents of young children) to find out which locations in the city need to be improved. Now, the city has taken another important step towards the formulation of the strategy.

Citizens have the best knowledge of the city

On 20 July, the municipality announced that all residents can help the city in its development of the adaptation strategy. More specifically, the city invites all citizens to visit adaptuj-cbudejovice.cz where they will be able to fill out a survey. In addition to this, they will also find a map that allows them to identify locations that overheat in the summer, flood during torrential rains, etc.

It is important to note that residents are further encouraged to pinpoint the areas they find pleasant. The municipality will then use this information to ensure their protection. What is more, it will use them as good examples from which it will derive ideas for the upgrade of other spaces.

Discussing the significance of citizens’ participation, Deputy Mayor Ivo Moravec commented: “In July this year, residents were able to experience fluctuations and extreme weather events, whether in the form of high temperatures, strong storms, hail or torrential rains. Due to their knowledge of the city, the observations and opinions recorded in the map will be an important source of information for us.”

The city will use the results to develop the aforementioned adaptation strategy and create a plan of concrete measures. Thus, the municipality will be able to make changes to areas that overheat, lack sufficient greenery, or need water.

Ultimately, the aim of the strategy is to prepare České Budějovice for the various effects of climate change. According to the city, the adaptation strategy will be completed by the spring of 2022. It is hoped that this plan will help České Budějovice become a safer and more pleasant city for its residents.