Fight against the heat: € 100,000 for innovative shadow islands!

Fight against the heat: € 100,000 for innovative shadow islands!

On June 19, 2025, the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment announced important grants of up to 100,000 euros for projects in the area of ​​heat protection. The aim of this initiative is to promote health measures and prevention in order to counter the challenges of high temperatures more effectively. The project call was launched by the quality development, planning and coordination office for public health (QPK) of the Treptow-Köpenick district office and is aimed at social institutions, associations and non-profit initiatives that are interested in the development of heat action plans and preventive measures. Particular attention is paid to the pilot project "Testing Shadow Islands on the Square Am Kaisersteg" in Oberschöneweide, which is planned for 2025.

The funded costs can cover personnel and material costs, including honorary to sensitize the population for heat protection measures and the conception by a landscape architecture office. One of the application criteria is that the project sketches submitted meet the specific requirements of the call.

municipal strategies against the heat

In Germany, the federal states and municipalities are responsible for the development of heat measures and the creation of heat action plans. These action plans aim to protect the population from extreme heat phases and include a number of measures that are based on local needs. The recommendations for action for this were already developed by the federal and state governments in 2017 and are based on a WHO guideline.

The measures that can be included in the heat action plans are diverse. They range from new urban design concepts to the promotion of city green to short -term shading actions. Special action processes in health and care facilities and information campaigns are also part of the extensive strategy, which is also becoming increasingly important for municipalities with their own heat action plans. According to the Federal Ministry of Health , measures such as monitoring and the development of individual concepts are necessary to ensure an appropriate response to heat waves.

The role of the German Institute for Urban Studies

On the occasion of the increasing challenges of climate change, the German Institute for Urban Studies (Difu) finds that the number of hot days is increasing in German cities. Vulnerable groups such as older people, children and people with chronic diseases are particularly at risk. In order to improve heat provision in the cities, the DIFU has published the publication "Heat Action Plans in Municipal Practice", which offers practice -oriented recommendations for the development of such action plans. Dr. Moritz Ochsmann, project manager at Difu, emphasizes the importance of these plans in order to better coordinate preventive measures and acute help and to integrate various departments.

The publication also contains qualitative evaluations of existing heat action plans and offers a valuable exchange of experience between cities such as Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe, Dresden and Cologne. With the "HAP calendar" an annual planner is also presented, which enables time planning for measures such as sensitization and further training offers and is based on German administrative processes. These initiatives are crucial to better prepare Germany for the increasing temperatures and ultimately protect the health of the population.