As summer temperatures rise, the health risks caused by heat increase. This particularly affects urban areas and cities such as Heidelberg with a high building density and limited green spaces. The heat island effect, which describes the higher temperatures in inner-city areas compared to the surrounding area, leads to an increase in heat-related illnesses, especially among vulnerable population groups such as the elderly, children and people with pre-existing conditions. To counter these consequences of climate change, researchers at Heidelberg University and the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT) have developed strategies to protect vulnerable people during periods of hot weather. With the help of a web-based route planning service, these groups of people can remain mobile in the city even when it is very hot.
As part of the "Heat Adaptation for Vulnerable Populations" (HEAL) project funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung as part of the "Innovations for Adaptation to Climate Change" program, sensor data and information on shadows cast by buildings and vegetation are used to calculate routes with less heat stress. The HEAL app identifies heat stress along a route and then calculates an alternative that avoids main roads with little shade and takes users through parks and shaded areas. It also shows the type of path, surface and gradient along the chosen route. All of this is intended to support mobility on hot days and at the same time raise awareness of the effects of climate change," explains Sven Lautenbach, geoinformatics specialist at Heidelberg University and group leader at HeiGIT, which is supported by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.
To solve the complex problem of urban mobility, the research team relied not only on experts from the field but also on the direct participation of the population. "We chose this approach in order to better understand the different needs of the various groups of people. Local stakeholders were systematically involved using low-threshold formats such as heat workshops with participatory methods or mobile instant messaging interviews conducted via a messenger service. These informal interactions enabled us to identify challenges and needs that might otherwise have gone unnoticed," explains Kathrin Foshag from the TdLab Geography at the Institute of Geography at Heidelberg University, which is involved in transdisciplinary geographical research on climate change and sustainability.
The HEAL project, in which the Department of Geoinformatics at the Institute of Geography and the Transdisciplinarity Laboratory for Geography (TdLab) at Heidelberg University and HeiGIT are involved, combines specialist knowledge from the fields of geography and computer science with aspects of geographical health research and methods from the social sciences. It also promotes the exchange between science and practice.
In cooperation with the city administration of Heidelberg, the public has access to information on heat adaptation strategies in urban areas via brochures and heat maps of Heidelberg as well as the HEAL app. The project team is currently working on the transferability of the approach and the routing application to other cities in Germany.
