IDS CONFERENCE – Design Strategies for Climate Adaptation

Cities and municipalities face the urgent task of adapting to the consequences of climate change. But how can we bridge the gap from awareness to implementation? The IDS Conference 2025 brings together these different perspectives and discusses concrete design strategies in thematic panels that accelerate and ensure the success of municipal climate adaptation.

Over 100 participants from academia, public administration, planning, design, and civil society convened on November 27th at the Kreativ Campus Detmold to discuss concrete strategies for a climate-resilient future.

Moderated by Prof. Ulrich Nether and Dr. Marcel Cardinali, the conference set clear impulses: “Our aspiration is not only to talk about solutions, but to demonstrate concrete pathways,” stated Nether. Cardinali added: “Climate adaptation succeeds through many small, well-considered steps that we take together.”

In their welcoming remarks, Prof. Dr. Yvonne-Christin Knepper-Bartel and Prof. Oliver Hall emphasized the responsibility universities bear in transformation processes.

The keynotes demonstrated: · All relevant data for climate risks is available (Dr. Tobias Kemper, LANUV NRW). · Indicators help to clearly identify hotspots (Univ.-Prof. Florian Otto, bauchplan). · Climate adaptation must enable new qualities in urban spaces (Lena Flamm, bgmr). · Temporary and community-based infrastructures strengthen resilience (Gilly Karjevsky, Floating e.V.).

In the practice panels, approaches from monitoring, sponge city concepts, mobility transition, and participation were discussed. The key insight: Effective climate adaptation only succeeds collaboratively, data-driven, and interdisciplinary.

With this conference, TH OWL has once again positioned itself as a platform where research findings and municipal practice converge, enabling new pathways forward.