Average temperatures in Athens regularly exceeded 30°C in the summer of 2018, making extreme heat one of the most serious climate threats facing the city. Athens has developed an integrated climate action plan for both climate change mitigation and adaptation following the example of other megacities. The climate action plan is part of Athens’ Resilience Strategy for 2030. This strategy prioritizes the actions that help the City to deal with crises, respond to citizens’ needs, support sustainable development, and in the long term make Athens a livable, attractive and creative city. Despite these important measures, the city still needs large scale, implementable initiatives that reach across communities.
Through the CSP process, the City of Athens is looking for climate solutions which will reduce the urban temperature and mitigate urban heat island effect within the city. To achieve this, Athens would like to utilize municipal school yards and abandoned building lots to improve the city’s microclimate by introducing green infrastructure, including innovative materials/technologies.
