In the first call of the Interreg Danube Region Programme, 290 concept notes were submitted. Out of these, 89 advanced to the second phase, and 60 reached the funding agreement stage. Twenty of these projects fall under the priority area “A greener, low-carbon Danube Region.”
One of the innovative projects selected is Be Ready (urban heat island resilience, preparedness, and mitigation strategy). The project aims to provide tools for local and regional authorities to identify urban heat islands and understand their causes and impacts on human health, productivity, energy consumption, and biodiversity. The project involves 19 partners from 12 countries, working together to develop solutions to mitigate the effects of heat islands in urban environments. Partner cities, including Hévíz, are preparing action plans to address urban heat islands through data analysis, urban planning solutions, regulations, increased awareness, and infrastructural measures.
A key aspect of the project’s approach is the concept of “urban acupuncture” – specific small-scale interventions with large impact. The urban pilot activities seek solutions in three areas:
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“Green acupuncture”, using vegetation;
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“White acupuncture”, applying innovative surfaces and materials;
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“Blue acupuncture”, exploring new ways to utilize water resources.
You can get involved and support the fight against climate change in Hévíz, helping make the world more sustainable for everyone.
Find more information about the project on our social media pages (Facebook and LinkedIn), and on the project website:
https://www.interreg-danube.eu/projects/beready
Project news
The project Be Ready (UrBan hEat islands REsilience, prepAreDness and mitigation strategy) addresses the climate change capacities in the Danube Region taking into account ecosystem-based approaches. The common challenge to be tackled is urban heat islands (UHI). The recent unprecedented heat waves demonstrate the acute need to strengthen the preparedness and adaptive capacity of the society to cope with impacts of climate change and foster resilience at city level.
- provide local and regional authorities with research, assessment and operational instruments to better understand UHI, its drivers, and effects;
- co-create, test and validate jointly developed solutions to mitigate the UHI effects in cities;
- support partner cities to develop and adopt action plans for increased resilience to UHI effects with specific actions to promote green, blue, or white measures.The novel approach to be taken by the project – “green acupuncture” - will allow the partners, both cities and knowledge partners, to take targeted, small but powerful, context-based measures to deal with UHI in critical urban areas. City pilots will test solutions in three areas: “green acupuncture” (vegetation-based interventions); “white acupuncture” (based on innovative surfaces and materials); and “blue acupuncture” (novel uses of water resources).
• Sofia Development Association, Bulgaria – Lead Partner
• DEX Innovation center, Czech Republic
• Association Tehnopol of Galati, Romania
• Chișinău Town Hall, Moldova
• Municipality of Galați, Romania
• Science and Technology Park Nis, Serbia
• City of Nis, Serbia
• City of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia
• Capital City Podgorica, Montenegro
• University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
• Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia
• Municipality of Ratiboř, Czech Republic
• South Moravian agency for public innovation JINAG, Czech Republic
• City of Kranj, Slovenia
• Association Bureau for Integration and Social Innovations, Bulgaria
• Development agency North Ltd., Croatia
• Municipality of Hévíz, Hungary
• Small Business Development Foundation of Kisalföld, Hungary
Experts from public institutions, scientific institutions, civil organizations and businesses will come together to learn about the risks of urban heat islands and to actively participate in the further activities of the project, the elimination of heat islands.
The Be Ready (UrBan Heat Islands Resilience, PrepAreDness and mitigation Strategy) project deals with the climate change capabilities of the Danube region, taking ecosystem-based approaches into account. The common challenge is urban heat islands (UHIs). The recent unprecedented heat waves show the urgent need to strengthen the preparedness and adaptability of society. cope with the impacts of climate change and promote resilience at the urban level.
The Municipality of Hévíz City participates as a consortium partner in the project, where a total of 19 partners from 12 countries joined together to jointly develop solutions to mitigate the effects of heat islands in the urban environment. Partner cities, including Hévíz, develop action plans to tackle urban heat islands through data analysis, urban planning solutions, regulations, increased awareness and infrastructure measures. In connection with this, the local workshop will be held on November 6, 2024, where the work of the relevant professional and civil organizations will begin. During the program, they get to know the overall goals of the project, the research that has already been completed as part of it, the methodology of the risk assessment prepared by the partners, and its use. They create some sort of joint pact to reduce urban heat islands.
Elimination of urban heat islands in order to improve the quality of life of the population and guests.
The Be Ready (UrBan Heat Islands - UHI - Resilience, PrepAreDness and mitigation Strategy) project deals with the climate change capabilities of the Danube region. The Municipality of Hévíz City participates as a consortium partner in the project, where a total of 19 partners from 12 countries joined together to jointly develop solutions to mitigate the effects of heat islands in the urban environment.
Representatives of the following organizations participated in the workshop:
Hévíz City Municipality
Hévíz St. Andrew's Rheumatology Hospital and Spa
Balaton Uplands National Park
Hévíz Entrepreneurs' Association
Hévíz Room Publishers' Association
Liget Hévíz Ltd.
Hévíz Television Ltd.
Bonvital Gastro & Wellness Hotel
Noppa Ltd.
Kisalföldi Enterprise Development Foundation
Hévíz Palace Hotel
BOKU University, Vienna
What is the project about in brief?
The partner cities, including Hévíz, develop action plans to combat urban 'hotspots' using data analysis, urban planning solutions, regulations and infrastructure measures.
As the average summer temperature rises, urban heat islands (UHI) are increasingly forming, which pose a health risk to residents and visitors, especially among the oldest and youngest, as well as sick people. The unprecedented heat waves experienced recently show that there is an urgent need to strengthen the preparedness and adaptability of society and to consciously (re)shape our living spaces in defense against the heat.
The aim of the project in Hévíz is to assess the city's hottest spots and develop solutions for their effective cooling or elimination. Efforts must be made to ensure that, within the framework of the 2-year program, there are immediate solutions, unique model projects and long-term strategic proposals at the local level as well.
The BeReady project consists of 5 phases, of which the III. stage preparation is underway in Hévíz. In Phase I, the research institutes assessed the general characteristics of the heat islands and are working on methods to map them. The II. the partners got to know the methods. The current III. with the involvement of the localities, locally affected partners, professional organizations, experts and the population, they will assess their own heat islands based on the methodology and their risk in order to be able to formulate proposals to prevent the formation of heat islands or eliminate existing ones. This will be followed by IV. phase, in which specific tasks and pilot projects must be implemented to reduce heat islands, the results of which will have to be reported and the results published in phase V.
Experts from public institutions, scientific institutions, civil organizations and businesses came together to learn about the risks of urban heat islands and to actively participate in the further activities of the project, the elimination of heat islands on the 6th November 2024 for a local workshop. The crowd of 18 guests got familar with the whole project, and started to learn the about the metodology which will used to measure and collect the local datas to provide the UHI vulnerability of Hévíz.
https://www.heviz.hu/en/news/news/beready-project-in-heviz
As part of the BeReady project (Urban Heat Islands Resilience, Preparedness and Mitigation Strategy), the City of Hévíz has completed a vulnerability assessment related to urban heat islands (UHI).
The assessment was based on a methodology jointly developed by expert partners involved in the project (Urban Planning Institute of Slovenia, BOKU, STUBA, Science and Technology Park Niš), with the goal of reducing risks related to the heat island effect.
The aim of the report is to map the vulnerability and preparedness of the city of Hévíz in the face of increasingly frequent summer heatwaves and extreme temperature events. The city’s analysis was carried out using four key criteria: exposure, sensitivity, preparedness, and adaptive capacity.
The assessment highlighted the urban areas most exposed to the heat island effect—particularly densely built commercial zones and areas with low green space coverage. In the next phase of the project, concrete adaptation and UHI mitigation measures will be developed with the involvement of the local community, paying special attention to the needs of vulnerable population groups.
BeReady – Online Platform for Vulnerability Assessment Tools
Within the framework of the BeReady project, an online platform offering Urban Heat Island (UHI) Vulnerability Assessment Tools has been made available. This platform supports municipalities and professional stakeholders in identifying and managing the risks and vulnerabilities related to the heat island effect.
Its purpose is to assist local authorities and relevant actors in assessing the level of their UHI vulnerability, raising awareness of at-risk groups, and identifying opportunities for development within relevant policies, practices, and in terms of adaptive capacity and preparedness.
The platform offers a simplified self-assessment tool that allows cities to evaluate their UHI exposure, sensitivity, preparedness, and adaptive capacity based on their own data. The methodology is built around four core elements: exposure, sensitivity, preparedness, and adaptive capacity.
In addition, the platform showcases good and promising practices for mitigating UHI impacts and encourages the exchange of experiences and solutions between cities.
Users of the platform also have access to a glossary that helps them understand the technical terms and abbreviations used. Where needed, BeReady partners provide direct support and mentoring through the platform.
The BeReady project aims to provide research-based, assessment, and operational tools to help local and regional authorities better understand the UHI phenomenon, identify its causes, and develop effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The platform is available at the following link: https://be-uhi-ready.net/vulnerability-assessment-tools/
