Integrating Climate Change in the Urban Planning Process - A Case Study

The ongoing European collaborative project SUDPLAN is targeted on the development of a software framework that allows the integration of climate change aspects in urban planning processes. Besides the implementation of the generic modules SUDPLAN comprises the implementation of four tangible pilot applications of the framework, one of them in the German City of Wuppertal. This “Wuppertal pilot” deals with urban storm water management and the prevention of infrastructure damages under present and future climate conditions. It can be considered as a case study for the integration of climate change in an actual, long-term urban planning process. This article describes the basic conditions of the case study and the building blocks of the intended decision support environment for urban planners, including the local models used for the simulation of storm water runoff, both in the sewers and on the surface.