For Rotterdam, extreme heat is new. For many of its residents, it’s not

Blind spot

According to sociologist Lore Van Praag, outdoor curtains are not the only form of climate adaptation we can learn from warmer parts of the world. 'Here, we are used to protecting ourselves from the cold, but not from heat,' she says. 'In warmer parts of the world, that is very different. People have been dealing with heat stress for generations. They grow up with all kinds of ways to keep their homes cool, for example, or to reduce heat stress by wearing the right clothes or preparing certain foods.'

In Dutch research and policy, heat has only recently begun to receive substantial attention, Van Praag says. Cities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam are setting up more and more heat networks, but there is still little in-depth knowledge about how different groups of resident's experience heat. 'We actually know very little about how migrant communities in our cities experience heat and how they deal with heat stress. That is striking, because many migrants live in the neighborhoods that heat up the most during hot periods.'

A resident may know, for example, that opening the windows in the evening can help during a heat wave but still keep them closed because of street noise or because sleeping with an open window feels unsafe. That kind of information can matter when cities develop heat plans and decide which measures to take.

More than a technical challenge

Much heat research focuses on the physical city: how hot do homes become, which facade and roofing materials retain heat, how much cooling does greenery provide? 'That’s important, but ultimately heat is much more than a technical challenge.'

Heat is about people, Van Praag says. About their health, their daily lives, and the options they have to adapt to high temperatures. Sometimes, heat stress even raises the question of whether they still want to remain in their home or neighborhood. HARARA therefore brings together social scientists, engineers, and urban planners with residents and civil society organizations.

An inclusive approach to heat

To help integrate these different forms of knowledge, Chetana Pai, a Gluon researcher at the Resilient Delta initiative, is part of the HARARA team. Her work connects academic research with knowledge from the neighborhood.

Pai also looks at how the collaboration itself is organized. How much room do residents have to contribute to decisions? At what points can their knowledge influence the research? 'Ultimately, with HARARA we want to develop an inclusive approach to extreme heat,' she says. 'And we think it is important that this approach is developed in a way that is fair and equitable.'

About HARARA

HARARA is a three-year research project on heat in Rotterdam and Antwerp, funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe program. The project is led by sociologist Lore Van Praag, Associate Professor at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB). HARARA stands for Heat Adaptation for Resilient and Responsive Areas and also means “heat” in Arabic. Migrants’ experiences with heat are central to the research.

The consortium consists of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Antwerp, TU Delft, EMPACT vzw, and CultuurWerkplaats Tarwewijk.

HARARA builds on ROCLIMI, a Kick-Starter project led by Lore Van Praag within the Resilient Delta initiative. Researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus MC, and TU Delft examined how Rotterdam residents with a migration background experience climate change, and how this relates to their engagement with their living environment and with policy.