After more than three years of intensive research and collaboration, the final event of the project AMAREX – Adaptation of Stormwater Management to Extreme Weather Events took place on 10 July 2025 in Cologne. The event focused on professional exchange around the project's developed approaches and tools for climate-resilient urban development.

The project aimed to adapt and further develop existing concepts for stormwater management in light of increasing weather extremes such as heavy rainfall and prolonged droughts. One of its key results is a user-friendly online tool designed to assess the potential impact of various measures on the local water balance, site conditions and vulnerability to weather extremes. The tool is particularly useful for the early-stage planning of blue-green infrastructure in municipal planning processes.

Professional Dialogue and Interactive Exhibition

The event began with welcoming remarks from the AMAREX consortium and – amongst others – a video message from the Mayor of Cologne, who emphasized the importance of climate-adapted urban planning. In a series of presentations, the project team shared insights into the project's core areas of work, including planning approaches, technical methods, and socioeconomic dimensions. 

In the afternoon, an "Innovation Marketplace" created space for an open and practice-oriented exchange. At various topic-specific stations, participants had the opportunity to explore project results in depth, including the AMAREX online tool and other developed products and recommendations. Researchers and project staff were on hand to answer questions and provide insight into practical applications and project outcomes. The direct exchange with professionals from municipal administration, policy, science and business enabled in-depth discussions on the transfer and scalability of the results and highlighted strong interest in their further development and implementation.

Stakeholder Workshops on the Application of Project Results

Following the main event, three stakeholder workshops were held to continue the stakeholder dialogue established during the project. These workshops allowed participants to test the AMAREX tool themselves with guidance, explore real-world applications of the research results. In the workshop organised by Ecologic Institute key challenges faced by municipalities and companies in implementation processes were discussed.