BlueGreen City Coaching

From Planning to Implementation: Pathways for Blue-Green Infrastructure in Municipalities 

Graphic blue-green infrastructure ©Artkolchose Graphic blue-green infrastructure ©Artkolchose

German cities face immense challenges as a result of climate change. Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and droughts, are becoming more frequent and severe. These events affect not only urban residents but also infrastructure and urban ecosystems.

In this context, blue-green infrastructure is becoming increasingly important. Whether green roofs, neighbourhood ponds, roadside greenery, or infiltration systems: blue-green infrastructure offers effective, nature-based solutions to flooding and heat stress. It enables rainwater to evaporate, infiltrate the ground or be stored locally, thereby reducing pressure on the sewerage system and lowering the risk of flooding.

At the same time, the blue-green infrastructure, often referred to as the 'sponge city', creates recreational and natural spaces. It ensures that vegetation has sufficient water during heatwaves and helps to cool urban areas.

However, if municipalities want to adapt to climate change and redesign their infrastructure accordingly, they often face a range of challenges: political agreement on the necessary changes must first be reached; planning and administrative processes need to be adapted; effective and affordable measures need to be identified; and these measures must then be integrated into the complex urban fabric.

This is where the project 'BlueGreen City Coaching – Implementation of Blue-Green Infrastructure for Climate Adaptation in Smaller German Cities' (BGCC) steps in. We support cities with populations of between 100,000 and 300,000 in planning and implementing climate-resilient urban development – using scientifically sound solutions that are further developed in a practical manner in collaboration with the participating cities.

Example of the blue-green design of an existing street, Obermünsterviertel, City of Regensburg © City of Regensburg, image documentation
Example of the blue-green design of an existing street, Obermünsterviertel, City of Regensburg © City of Regensburg, image documentation

In spring 2025, following a call for applications published by the Association of German Cities (Deutscher Städtetag), interested cities could apply for individually tailored coaching. The ten selected cities are being supported from autumn 2025 to spring 2027 in their efforts to develop and implement blue-green infrastructure in an impactful manner. 

Together with the ten coaching cities, scientists are identifying city-specific opportunities, limitations and practical solutions for implementing blue-green infrastructure. The coaching process focuses on legal aspects, costs, benefits and financing, infrastructure planning, and decision-making processes within politics and public administration.

The findings from the coaching process will be developed into transferable model solutions and made available on this website from autumn 2027 for use by other municipalities.

The BlueGreen City Coaching project is implemented by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in cooperation with the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) and Fresh Thoughts Consulting (FT). 

The German Environment Agency (UBA) supervises the project and it is also supported by the Association of German Cities (DST) and the Zentrum KlimaAnpassung (ZKA), a federal information centre for climate adaptation. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) funds the BlueGreen City Coaching project through the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity (ANK).

Key Modules of the Coaching

  • Blue-green infrastructure planning
  • Law
  • Politics and administration
  • Costs, benefits, financing

Coaching in Ten Cities

  • One on-site basic workshop each
  • Three central expert meetings on key topics
  • City-specific coaching sessions
  • Ideally, a pilot implementation on-site



Contact

Dr. Frank Hüesker, Project manager BlueGreenCity Coaching, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ),  frank.hueesker@ufz.de

Internal reference: FKZ 3723 NK 902 0