Smart Sustainability

Activities

1. Strengthening the knowledge hubs within the three spearheads:

• Climate adaptation: Soil Valley: By 2025, the following three major projects will be underway within Soil Valley:
  • Regio Deal, with sub-projects focusing on climate adaptation in the Berg en Dal moraine, soil improvement in the Duivens Broek area for farmers, and the establishment of the Living Lab.
  • EU Project Pathway 2 Resilience, in collaboration with the Green Metropolitan Region, to develop a plan for how the region can become climate-resilient by 2040
  • EU Project SHAPE: an Interreg project aimed at developing new monitoring methods for soil monitoring

It also continues to build its network, develop programmes and organise various knowledge-sharing and network meetings.

• Circular building and transformation - Via-T is the knowledge and innovation centre for sustainability, circularity and craftsmanship in the built future-proof living environment; the transition accelerator to circular and bio-based building. With funding through the Region Deal, Via-T will start scaling up four functionalities; research and innovation accelerator, learning accelerator, workforce accelerator and the Inspiration Centre.
• Circular Economy: Circular Top Region (SME support towards circularity) Lifeport@ works with partners from education, government and business to strengthen the ecosystem around circular innovation to stimulate the transition to circular business. Knowledge transfer and stimulating regional chain cooperation is important here.

2. Learning projects greening: developing and directing the implementation of learning projects

• Lifeport Cool Lab: Green projects are implemented in 5 municipalities (Arnhem, Nijmegen, Heumen, Overbetuwe and Westervoort). The HAN University of Applied Sciences is investigating how local residents are involved in the plans and what impact green interventions have on improving quality of life. The knowledge and experience gained will be shared so that municipalities in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region can learn from each other's climate adaptation plans. Studies are being conducted into the greening of the Mosterdhof residential area in Westervoort, the greening of Croydon Parkplein in Arnhem, the Green Corridor in Nijmegen and a study into the role of resident participation in the greening of the Herveld and Andelst cores (Overbetuwe municipality), and the greening of Kerkplein Malden (Heumen municipality).
• Working Landscapes of the Future, Living Labs in cities, rural areas and village centres

3. Work on a jointly supported narrative on Smart Sustainability with regional partners and actively promote this regionally and (inter)nationally.

Expected result

• Soil Valley: Within the project in the Region Deal, four participation meetings are being held with stakeholders in Berg en Dal on the issues and two experiments are being launched. In the Duivens Broek, a test will start at two farmers on how to improve soil quality with compost tea and 2 knowledge-sharing sessions will be held.
• Via-T: In 2025, Via-T focuses on developing a knowledge base for research and innovation, developing a pilot environment regarding the circular construction waste / raw material system, conducting master classes, carrying out 40 apprenticeships for lateral entrants to the construction industry, organising 2 exhibitions in the inspiration centre with at least 15 exhibiting companies.
• Lifeport Cool Lab: Climate adaptation studies were conducted for the selected locations. Climate adaptation designs have been prepared based on these studies. At two sites, implementation of the plans has started or even been completed. Measurement of the impact of the green projects on the quality of the living environment has been initiated at four locations. Residents' participation in devising and implementing climate adaptation plans has been initiated at the locations concerned.
  Read more about this project here.
• Circular Top Region Arnhem-Nijmegen organises at least one Lifeport event, including the presentation of circular awards. In addition, two company visits with the network and two master classes or knowledge sessions are organised. This is in close cooperation with the university's research programme to share the knowledge developed within the region. It will be explored how cooperation with the Living Lab in Arnhem can contribute to strengthening each other's ecosystems. A place or method is also being developed in which entrepreneurs, government and education can work together to develop and validate circular solutions for practice (Lifeport Innovation Hub).