Water In and Around the City

More and heavier rainfall, prolonged drought and heat, and rising sea levels. The effects of climate change are being felt. The Water In and Around the City research group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) conducts practice-oriented research into how to organise cities in such a way that residents and users will be able to live, do business and be comfortable and secure in the future. With the insights from the research, government, businesses and residents can look forward to a climate-proof city.

The Netherlands: climate-proof by 2050. This is the ambition agreed by the central government, provinces, municipalities and water authorities. Realising it is easier said than done. After all, which measures will ultimately be the most effective? What steps need to be taken now to achieve this? And what about the costs and benefits?

Considered decisions

The work of the The Water In and Around the City research group provides practical insights that help policymakers, businesses and residents make considered decisions. For example, the group develops guidelines for the construction of green spaces and road-water harvesting, and makes designs for neighbourhoods and houses based on various future scenarios – such as extreme precipitation, heat or drought, and rising sea levels. The designs also take into account other social issues, such as biodiversity and urban densification.

The professor

Jeroen Kluck, Professor of Water In and Around the City since 2008, studied Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology. There he also obtained his PhD, in 1997, for his study of flow and sedimentation in storage and settlement basins. “I find it important that the research we do is translated into solutions that benefit society,” says Kluck.

Education

The The Water In and Around the City research group fully involves students in research, for example through final-year internships and the minor The Climate-Proof City. Together with the lecturer-researchers, they are building a solid knowledge base to aid the development of climate-proof cities. The group also provides education in the form of lectures and seminars in the curriculum of the Built Environment and Urban Management programmes. Together with the Centre of Expertise City Net Zero, the research group also develops courses for professionals. An example is the learning programme Climate Adaptation.

Partners

The The Water In and Around the City research group works together with the government, other knowledge institutions, engineering and consultancy firms and (contractor) companies. The research is funded in part by a grant from the Top Sector Water & Maritime.

Published by  Centre for Applied Research Technology 23 November 2023

  dr. ir. J. Kluck (Jeroen)

Professor of Water In and Around the City

Tel: 0639357868
j.kluck@hva.nl
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