Forum des transitions urbaines 2025

Despite all the efforts made since the beginning of the century to limit greenhouse gas emissions, we are unfortunately still waiting for a global turnaround. In addition to the challenge of protecting the climate, we now also face the challenge of adapting our living environments to the consequences of climate change. As home to the majority of the world's inhabitants and jobs, towns and cities are at the forefront of this transformation. Even more so as they are warming up more than the surrounding countryside, due to the urban heat island effect.

Analysis of today's cities shows that they are not really adapted to the expected global warming. Without a series of rapid, significant and convergent actions, their habitability could be partially called into question in the medium term. In the face of this uncertain trend, some adaptation measures have already been clearly identified to act favorably on built-up areas, public spaces and landscapes. Low-tech acclimatization of buildings, de-sealing of urban soils, reinforcement of biodiversity-rich linkages, preservation of fresh-air corridors, tree planting in public spaces and a significant increase in the urban canopy are just some of the concrete ways in which we can ambitiously and creatively anticipate these now inescapable challenges.

Throughout the day, the conferences offered participants a rich overview of key issues, innovative approaches and pioneering experiences :

• Emmanuel Rey, head of the LAST and partner at Bauart, opened the day's sessions by underlining the scale of the challenges and the diversity of strategies to be combined to adapt our cities.
• Isabelle Bey, cheffe du Centre régional de Météosuisse, presented the climate trajectory around the world and the risks for Switzerland.
• Émilie Nault, head of the climate team at CSD Engineers, discussed the methodologies implemented during the development of Climate Plans.
• Clément Gaillard, founder of Freio based in Montpellier, recalled the historical origins of bioclimatic design, which inspires strategies for the current adaptation of cities.
• Vincent Kempf, urban planner in Sion, discussed the operational challenges, from anticipation to implementation, for the adaptation of cities.
• Olivier Philippe, founding partner of agenceter, which operates in Europe, America and Asia, spoke about urban planning committed to climate action.
• Tim Cousin, Co-founder of Roofscapes, presented a climate adaptation strategy for existing buildings through roofs in the city of Paris.
• Philippe Rahm, architecte à Paris, explained a climate-based approach to architectural design centred on conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.

As a biennial event, the Forum des transitions urbaines thus pursues its objective of promoting knowledge transfer and exchange between people from different backgrounds, particularly from the academic world, the public, and private sectors.