Between 2018 and 2023, recurring droughts have severely impacted the Dutch Built Environment (BE), causing significant financial, environmental, and social effects while threatening livability. As climate change intensifies and the BE continues to evolve, the frequency and severity of droughts and their effects are expected to rise. Although many Dutch municipalities recognize drought as a critical risk, only a few have integrated drought risk into their climate policies, resilience, or even emergency (water allocation) plans. This is due, in first place, to a lack of knowledge about the urban water balance’s behaviour (quantity and quality) under drought and the specific demands placed on it by urban water use(r)s, particularly regarding the role of urban green. The interaction between urban development, climate change, and adaptation strategies introduces additional complexities in managing water resources efficiently and sustainably. Ambiguity in the role and responsibility prevent municipalities and water authorities from developing and implementing concrete governance arrangements to encourage and enforce preventive and adaptive measures.
To be able to realize a climate-proof, drought-resilient, and water-sensitive BE by 2050 while prioritizing water demands during extreme droughts, practitioners - including water managers, urban planners and urban green specialists- need action-perspectives: clear guidelines, tools, and governance arrangements.
Thirsty cities aims to contribute to this challenge by developing, collecting, connecting and delivering knowledge, insights, tooling, principles and infrastructures to close the knowledge gaps identified, to formulate the actions-perspectives needed, and to realize the desired change with stakeholders. Where necessary it will develop, new knowledge. For example with respect to the urban water balance, the role of urban green, the effects of droughts for urban water users, adaptation strategies, and governance practices and reforms. Transdisciplinary integration of existing knowledge and new insights will translate into action-perspectives and collaborative learning contributing to the realization of a climate-proof, drought-resilient, and water-sensitive BE.
