Cities Talk Nature Conference: Unlocking the potential of underutilised urban areas

Thursday, 11 May 2023 to Friday, 12 May 2023

International Conference
11-12 May 2023 | Chemnitz, Germany
English, German and Spanish interpretation available

Urban nature has the potential to provide many benefits for society and the environment. As an example, urban green and blue can reduce the negative impacts of heat waves and heavy rainfall events. This makes the creation and protection of urban spaces for nature indispensable in the context of the climate and biodiversity crises.

Underutilised spaces such as brownfields, abandoned industrial areas, oversized roads and parking lots as well as roofs and facades of buildings offer a unique opportunity to increase the share of urban nature. However, such transformations are often associated with challenges.

The City of Chemnitz, upcoming cultural capital of Europe, in cooperation with Climate Alliance and Ecologic Institute invites you to a two-day conference on how to achieve such a green transition in cities. Topics include: enabling policy and governance frameworks, identification of key actors within city administrations, how to foster cross-sectoral collaboration and citizen participation, financing options, managing conflicts of interest and potential trade-offs between green and grey options for different stakeholders. The conference targets municipal actors and practitioners interested in tapping into the potential of underutilised areas to expand urban nature.

We look forward to welcoming you in Chemnitz!


Register

Register now!

The conference is free of charge. Participation is possible on-site only. The conference will be held in English, German and Spanisch with simultaneous translation. There is a limited contingent of participants. Registration is open until 2 May 2023. Please register here.


Programme  

Programme

Join us and other municipal representatives at the Pentagon3 in Chemnitz for two days of keynote presentations, pitch sessions, interactive workshops (day 1) and field trips (day 2)! Please find the programme here.


Pitch your Urban
Nature Story 

Join the conversation at Cities Talk Nature Europe in Chemnitz and pitch your urban nature story!

We are looking for inspiring stories showcased in a three-minute pep talk on how to bring back nature into cities by employing underutilised spaces. Awards await the winning participants. Are you interested? Find out more about pitching your story here.


Sign the engagement letter   

Sign the Cities Talk Nature engagement letter at the conference!

You like what Cities Talk Nature is doing and are keen on being involved beyond the event in Chemnitz? Then sign the engagement letter and become part of the growing Cities Talk Nature community, supported by the city networks Climate Alliance (Europe), UCLG (worldwide), FLACMA (Latin America) and UNGL (Costa Rica). Please find more information here.


Venue and Contact

pentagon3, Brückenstraße 17, 09111 Chemnitz, Germany
(One bus stop or a 10 minutes walk from Chemnitz Main Station)

If you have any questions, please send us an e-mail.