Competence and transfer centre for sustainable sponge city/region at Hof University of Applied Sciences
Foundation
The ktns was founded as part of the 3rd Hof Water Symposium on 15 November 2023 and is organisationally affiliated with the Institute for Sustainable Water Systems at Hof University of Applied Sciences (inwa). The establishment of ktns is a response to the needs of local authorities, specialist engineers, architects and urban planners, but also to demand from companies in Upper Franconia and Bavaria who need to adapt our cities and communities to climate change. Until the ktns is able to stand on its own two feet in terms of personnel and funding, the ongoing activities will be coordinated by inwa. Colleagues from the individual inwa research groups will provide support for specialised topics that can be assigned to individual research projects.
Work areas
The ktns will focus on two main areas of work: knowledge storage and transfer as well as counselling and coaching. On the one hand, existing knowledge on the subject of the sponge city/sponge region is to be collected in a web-based knowledge repository and made available to the public in a readily usable form. In order for this knowledge to be put into practice, a corresponding transfer is required, which is to be ensured in the form of courses, training and lectures, intensive networking and with the help of new test fields for practical training. The second focus of Consultancy & Coaching is to close the current gap in order to implement the solutions and ideas from the knowledge repository. To this end, these must first be checked for suitability with the local conditions, e.g. with the help of multi-level analyses, and then adapted for the respective case before the municipalities and their planning offices can begin with the actual planning. The new type of preliminary review and adaptation described above, which should take place before the actual service phase, is not included in the normal service phases. The municipalities and planning offices are to be supported and trained by ktns until they are able to carry out the new type of preliminary review and adaptation described above independently before the actual service phase.
The sponge city concept
The topic of water is increasingly taking centre stage, as the effects of climate change are primarily being felt in the form of more frequent heavy rainfall and increasingly long periods of drought. The sponge city concept, which is also being extended to the region at ktns, provides effective solutions to these challenges. The concept involves collecting and retaining rainwater like a sponge, e.g. in open water areas, in channels or drainage ditches, so-called infiltration trenches, in underground storage tanks or on special green roofs. The rainwater then no longer flows uncontrollably over the sealed surfaces, which prevents or at least minimises flooding. After the rain event, the reservoirs are emptied, which is the equivalent of squeezing out the sponge. On hot summer days, the stored rainwater can be used for various applications such as watering plants. This saves precious drinking water.
In particular through two projects at inwa, the SPORE project (Smart Sponge Region Oberfranken, financed by the Oberfrankenstiftung and the Hof University of Applied Sciences, link: https://inwa.hof-university.de/index.php/startseite/projekte/spore/) and the training programme "The Road to the Sponge City - Urban Development in Times of Climate Change" (financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), REACT-EU, link: https://inwa.hof-university.de/index.php/startseite/projekte/schwammstadt-2/), inwa has analysed and co-developed various solutions based on the sponge city concept and brought the state of the art and technology closer to more than 60 participants.
In addition to the specialised technical content, the topic of sustainability also plays a central role. The high importance of sustainability in sponge concepts was jointly identified and it was decided to name the new competence and transfer centre "sustainable sponge city/region". In the discussions with project participants and attendees, it became clear that there are currently two essential things missing in order for the stakeholders to be able to take action in terms of the sponge city: On the one hand, although there are many good ideas and application examples, these are not centrally available anywhere. On the other hand, the stakeholders lack the time and experience to transfer the good ideas and examples to their own use cases, as well as a suitable roadmap on how to proceed. The inwa has developed suitable methods for precisely the second point, which are now to be made available to stakeholders via the new competence and transfer centre. The ktns is to develop into the missing central information centre on the subject of sponge cities in Bavaria and beyond in the future. The sponge city concept is also to be extended to rural areas, as these require their own customised solutions. For this reason, the ktns is not only looking at the sponge city, but also at the sponge region in co-operation with agriculture and forestry.
Challenges and approach
In the discussions with the stakeholders, it became clear that it is imperative to look at the measures required to adapt to climate change from different perspectives and to analyse the different needs of those involved. In doing so, it is particularly important to ensure that possible measures are harmonised with the day-to-day work of the stakeholders and that the increasing complexity of tasks is taken into account. Otherwise the endeavours will fail.
For precisely this special, holistic approach, a suitable method for analysing complexity and everyday working life was developed in the form of the multi-level analysis, which has already been put through its paces in the research projects. The multi-level analysis can be used to identify existing "sponge potential" in cities and municipalities and examine how it can be ideally implemented in everyday working life. It is important that attention is paid to the right combination of the measures in question with the other everyday challenges and how the holistic approach can uncover potential synergies with other projects and activities.
This enables cities and municipalities to better manage the path to becoming a water-sensitive city or region in terms of funding and personnel. The multi-level analysis is closely linked to the holistic approach of sustainability and has already proven to be very suitable. It will be used as an important tool in the new ktns. Complexity management and sustainability are thus two essential, closely interlinked pillars of ktns. When working on the research projects, it became clear that Hof University of Applied Sciences is currently the only research institution attempting to grasp the issue of the sponge city/sponge region in all its complexity from a holistic perspective and to develop tools from this position in order to deal with it effectively and purposefully. The expertise that flows together in the competence and transfer centre is enormously beneficial to Hof as the Bavarian competence location for water.
News and outlook
We are currently working on the enquiries resulting from the two research projects that could not be processed further within the project period. There have also already been new enquiries from the 3rd Hof Water Symposium, which we will be supporting in the coming months. Over the next two to three years, various test facilities will be set up at the Hof wastewater treatment plant, which will primarily be constructed and operated as part of research projects. In addition, various sponge solutions are also to be realised at the university site in order to familiarise students with the topic on a real object and at the same time to conduct research on open questions.
How the ktns develops will largely depend on the funding that can be obtained. Further information will then be made available on the new inwa website in 2024.
Projects
Green roof in Schauenstein/Upper Franconia
Successful cooperation between companies, universities and municipal institutions.
Germany's first "Detention Roof", an innovative green roof concept that significantly improves rainwater retention compared to conventional green roofs, has been installed at Schauenstein primary school. This project is part of a comprehensive sponge city project initiated by Hof University of Applied Sciences and the Water Energy Competence Network.
The company Browatech GmbH & Co. KG, known for its patented "Tech-Drainage", plays a central role in this project. This ultra-light drainage textile, which is only five millimetres thick, can buffer large quantities of water and release it with a time delay, thereby preventing flooding and reducing the need for large retention basins. This technology is part of the "Purple Roof concept", which is known in Europe as "Detention Roof".
Hof University of Applied Sciences is providing scientific support and analysing the project through its Institute for Sustainable Water Systems. As part of the SPORE research project, the university is investigating how Upper Franconia can deal with the challenges of climate change, in particular heavy rainfall and drought. The project will also explore the role of digital solutions in this context.
This innovative project demonstrates the successful cooperation between companies, universities and municipal institutions and represents an important step towards sustainable water utilisation and flood protection.
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