Schoolyards to be used as climate shelters

As climate change accelerates, European cities are feeling the heat — literally. Take the record-breaking summer of 2022, for instance, where more than 60,000 Europeans lost their lives in heat-attributable deaths.

A new international project aims to address this problem by transforming schoolyards into climate shelters: multifunctional public spaces that provide relief from heatwaves and other extreme weather events.

MAINCODE, the project is called, and it is led by the Polytechnic University of Turin with partnering researchers and authorities in Denmark, Italy, and Greece. Amongst these are UNESCO Chair on Urban Resilience at the dUniversity of Southern Denmark (SDU.Resilience).

The project tackles the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon where cities become significantly warmer than their rural surroundings due to dense infrastructure and lack of vegetation. While the issue is especially severe in Southern European cities, its effects are becoming increasingly relevant even in traditionally cooler regions.

- We're looking to design schoolyards that not only offer shade and cooling through vegetation and water features, but also act as public spaces where communities can meet and socialize during heatwaves, says Yu Liu, Postdoc from SDU.Resilience at the University of Southern Denmark.

Inspired by global emergency shelter models used in disaster-prone regions, the concept goes far beyond planting a few trees. The climate shelters integrate Nature-based Solutions — such as green walls, ponds and rain gardens— along with a range of features, including playground equipment, sports facilities, accessible pathways and trails.

- This is about creating resilient, inclusive public spaces that can serve both everyday needs and future extreme weather events, explains Professor Nicola Tollin, head of SDU.Resilience.

The 30-month initiative includes pilot transformations of schoolyards in Halandri and Turin, co-design processes involving students and local communities, policy recommendations for scaling the concept across Europe, and consideration of other risks like droughts and floods, making these shelters adaptable to various climate challenges.

One of the project’s initiatives is the push to open schoolyards to the public outside school hours.

- We see these spaces as the beginning of a broader network of green corridors across cities, says Tollin.

- Our goal is not just to react to climate impacts, but to design urban environments that are prepared for them.