After successful completion of the course, students are able to develop a scientific basis on the topic of "Climate Twins". By integrating a combined perspective of spatial planning and urban climatology, the focus is on discussing the concept of "Climate Twins" as an optimizing approach to its relevance with regard to the urgent climate change adaptation question and to classify it in the research and planning discourse. In addition, the students in the seminar will deal with methodological, application-oriented as well as content-related further developments of the concept, with the aim of building it up as a scientific, application-optimized and innovative basis for an investigation system, which can be used for further research projects. Due to the real societal and spatial planning reference of the seminar with regard to the urgency of climate change adaptation in urban areas, the seminar enables the participants to specialize methodically and in terms of content in the master's program.

Seminar Topic | Summer Term 2023

CLIMATE TWINS | A "research journey" to climate change-adapted cities

The effects of climate change are manifold, far-reaching and omnipresent. Thus, they are now an integral part of the spatial planning discourse. In order to find innovative solutions for cities adapted to climate change, the "Climate Twins" approach is dedicated to the comparison of urban climatic situations, but with two perspectives: City A is, from a climatic point of view, the future image of city B. This is to illustrate where on earth the predicted climate for a particular city can already be found today.

The seminar uses these comparisons to first establish a scientific foundation on this topic. Integrating a combined perspective of spatial planning and urban climatology, the focus is to discuss the concept of "Climate Twins" as an optimizing approach to its relevance to the urgent climate change adaptation question and to place it in the research and planning discourse. In addition, the students in the seminar will deal with methodological, application-oriented as well as content-related further developments of the concept, with the aim of building it up as a scientific, application-optimized and innovative basis for an investigation system, which can be used for further research projects. Due to the real social and spatial planning reference of the seminar with regard to the urgency of climate change adaptation in urban areas, the seminar enables the participants to specialize methodically and in terms of content in the master's study.

The structure of the course follows this logic and focuses on the following topics: 

1. BASIC STUDY | Investigation systematics based on the following central questions:

Spatial structures | What are specific climate-adapted and climate-oriented urban and spatial structures that can and should be explored for climate change adaptation? What are the specific spatial planning criteria to define the predicate "climate change adapted"?

2. PROOF OF CONCEPT  | Proof of concept using selected "Climate Twins" as case studies

The developed investigation system is tested on the case studies, focusing on the central questions of the investigation system

3. EXPERIENCE VALUES | Feedback loop to enable an iterative research process using the following questions:

Which criteria could be developed well with which methods, and which less well? What difficulties or obstacles have arisen in transferring solutions for climate change adaptation from one city to another? Are there planning criteria for defining climate-adapted cities that are still missing and should be supplemented?

Important information:

The course takes place on Mondays and/or Wednesdays 14-16 h or 15-17 h, location: Seminar room Karlsgasse 11 EB EG 1 (and EB U1-1).

IMPORTANT: Use the semester timetable in the TUWEL course for exact dates and locations!

The seminar is available for 15 students of spatial planning who would like to focus on spatial planning as well as climatic issues and topics within the framework of the master's program. The seminar counts as a supplementary subject of 3 ECTS within the elective "module 3: City and Landscape in Climate Change. Planning and intervention practice". 

In the summer term 2023 the option is available in combination with the courses

• 280.A38 UE Design HARD AM LIMIT
• 280.A39 EX City and Landscape HARD AM LIMIT
• 280.A40 VU Practical Planning Discourse HARD AM LIMIT

to do the entire elective module 3 with 18 ECTS.

Registration period: 13th February 2023 until 28th of February 2023 (7 PM) via TISS. Registrations until Sunday, 05th March 2023 are possible depending on the number of participants and by mail request

The seminar will be held in presence, in case of a changed energy or corona situation there may be changes in the format (e.g. change to pure distance learning)

If you have any questions, please contact Bianca Pfanner by mail: bianca.pfanner@tuwien.ac.at

The seminar serves the research-guided and project-oriented learning, whereby an independent elaboration of the research status is required as well as the discussion and positioning of the advantages and disadvantages of the research results, methods and processes are in the focus. These achievements are made possible with the help of the following teaching methods:

• Subject-specific inputs as a basis for independent thematic deepening and discussion
• Concept mapping (with the help of a "living document") to further develop the content structure in the course of the semester
• Independent literature research
• Small group work to gather different perspectives and to bundle individual competences
• Discursive setting (think-pair-share method) to enable exchange of ideas
• Memory game to define the case studies
• Reflection and moderation in order to classify and reflect viewpoints and information from the small groups and in the entire seminar group in the thematic framework
• Thematic elaboration to present the central questions and topics of the seminar (along the structure: 1. develop basics | 2. test application | 3. gather experience) both in oral form (presentations) and in written form (concept mapping, booklets)

The service provision includes

• Ongoing presentations of the status of work in the discursive think-pair-share setting
• Joint elaboration of a "living document" according to the concept-mapping method in order to develop the learning outcomes from the small groups as a joint synthesis
• Active participation and contribution to the seminar units (immanent examination character, presence at all dates required)
• Booklet as a written synthesis of the learning outcomes at the end of the semester