Rising temperatures increase heat stress in cities. Cooling Down the City brings residents, researchers and urban professionals together in the Cartesius neighbourhood in Utrecht to co-create heat-resilient and socially equitable urban solutions.
Research line: Preserving Health / Funding: Supported by EWUU i4PH seed money and primarily funded by the strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability of Utrecht University
Rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves increasingly challenge cities. Urban areas are often significantly warmer than their surroundings due to the urban heat island effect. At the same time, many homes are designed for colder climates and offer limited options for cooling. This makes urban residents—particularly tenants and low-income households—more vulnerable to heat stress.
With many new housing developments planned across the Netherlands, strengthening urban heat resilience is increasingly urgent. Cooling Down the City addresses this challenge by linking urban planning, public health, and social equity. The project is an initiative of the strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability of Utrecht University and is connected to the Institute for Preventive Health. It focuses on reducing heat stress while addressing social inequalities in urban neighbourhoods.
Objectives and Route to Impact
The project aims to co-create heat-resilient solutions by actively involving residents, researchers, and urban development professionals. Using the Cartesius neighbourhood in Utrecht as a case study, the project seeks to:
- Empower residents to collect temperature data and share lived experiences of heat stress.
- Develop collaborative strategies to reduce heat stress in the urban living environment.
- Address social inequalities related to heat exposure and vulnerability.
- Produce a scalable Coadaptation Method to support the creation of heat-resilient, socially equitable, and climate-adaptive urban environments.
The outcomes are intended to inform future urban development and support broader application beyond the case study neighbourhood.
Methods and Deliverables
The project uses a co-creation approach in which residents, researchers, and professionals work together throughout the research process. Residents will collect local temperature data and contribute experiential knowledge, which will serve as a foundation for joint reflection and solution development.
Key deliverables include:
- Community-generated data on heat exposure in the neighbourhood.
- Co-created strategies to reduce heat stress at neighbourhood level.
- A transferable Coadaptation Method that can be applied in other urban contexts to enhance heat resilience and social equity.
Contribution to Collaboration
The project brings together researchers from multiple Utrecht University institutes and disciplines, including IRAS (Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences), the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, and Social Psychology. In addition, WAAG Futurelab is involved. This collaboration connects academic research with resident participation and urban practice within the Cartesius neighbourhood in Utrecht.
Through the Convenant Bouwen aan een Gezonde Wijk, the project is also connected to a diverse group of practice professionals, such as housing corporations, municipal authorities, and urban developers.
Team
- Dr Marije Lammers – UU IRAS
- Dr Hanneke Posthumus – UU IRAS
- Prof Wouter Boon – UU Copernicus Institute
- Dr Tina Venema – UU Copernicus Institute
- Dr Gerald Mollenhorst – UU Human Geography & Spatial Planning
- Dr Laura Weiss – UU Social Psychology
- Milla Gois MSc – UU IRAS
- WAAG Futurelab