Time-based Innovative Measures and Experimentations to ADAPT our cities to climate change

Climate change already has significant adverse impacts on lives in EU cities, including severe heat-related illness. What can urban authorities do to ensure long-term liveable conditions despite soaring temperatures? With 95 municipalities and 1.2 million inhabitants, Lille Metropole (MEL) faces increasingly strong and varied climatic vulnerabilities. Temperatures rose by 2°C from 1955 to 2017, and a further rise of at least 1.5 degrees is expected by 2055. In densely built-up areas like Lille, the heat island effect intensifies summer heat and droughts, increasing pressure on water supplies. 

T2A uses time-based urbanism as a lever to answer the need for cool places when urban temperatures reach uncomfortable and life-threatening highs. Actions include identifying time margins to optimise the opening hours of cool places and offer more time to use them, and adapting more sites to become thermal shelters. Designed for the benefit of all, these shelters make the most of the city’s indoor and outdoor resources, such as natural or built heritage, playgrounds, and meeting places with benches. 

T2A is helping make regenerated cities more resilient and inclusive. Enabling all citizens to access cool spaces contributes to reducing social inequalities and climatic vulnerabilities, sustaining social links and providing better living conditions.