Uploaded on 2020-07-25 by Janine Sterner

2. I found an urban heat climate map of the city of Hannover, where I live. It shows significant differences between city and surrounding rural areas. What I find really interesting are the differences between areas even within the city. When visiting them I observed the following: Pic1 shows an area with strong UHI effect: an area with taller building blocks, lots of concrete, constant traffic, few or no greenery/trees. Pic2 shows an area with little UHI effect: It has smaller family houses with gardens/greenery, smaller streets, less traffic, a tree canopy. Maybe not coincidentally, this area - also close to the city‘s forest park - is more expensive in terms of housing costs. 3. I would propose to introduce more greenery and trees, reduce traffic (esp. in residential areas), extend the biking network and spaces for pedestrians, convert parking spaces and unused spaces into green micro spaces. 4. Last year, Hannover elected a new major. He is of the green party and wants to make significant areas car-free, extend the biking network, introduce more greenery etc. He seems to encounter some resistance in the city council, but I do hope he will put his policies in action.