In mid-July 2024, the CoolCo 2.0 was designed and built by the Koho' team. The new version builds on the experience of the Józsefváros implementation and is an improved version of it, with several technical changes. The most recent implementation took place in Krakow, where we were pleased to see that the residents quickly took to using the modular street furniture. Public space improvements are becoming part of public life, and the Krakow project seems to have quickly stirred things up. It is our duty to answer the experiences and questions raised during the construction process, and we do so with this article.
The impact of climate change is undeniable and minimising its effects requires small-scale and systemic solutions from responsible decision-makers. Some of these measures can support mitigation, slowing the pace of climate change, while others can support adaptation. The CoolCo project offers a small-scale solution that can be applied to achieve both mitigation and adaptation effects in the short term. However, it is clear that the initiative cannot replace the broad and coordinated work of policy and professional actors to reduce the impacts of climate change. We are also aware of the positive effects of planting natural solutions such as trees and vegetation, but tree planting in urban environments is not a universal solution.
Mobility is an inescapable issue in many respects, given climate change and heat waves. Various studies and research show that heat waves reduce the willingness to move, especially among vulnerable groups (especially the elderly, people with cardiovascular diseases, children, pregnant women, linguistically isolated groups, people living in low-income households). By making mobility services more convenient, we can reduce this form of mobility poverty. In other words, more people will stay on public transport during the summer days under more comfortable travelling and waiting conditions.
Our aim is to serve the interests of a wide range of social groups by providing elementary functions and, because of their location and focus, to cater primarily for the more sensitive and vulnerable groups, not in tourist areas but in points frequently used by the local population. The sites in Krakow have been chosen with this in mind, as they are two very busy transport hubs that are inescapable in the life of the city.
We are indebted to the EIT Urban Mobility for funding the project, and they have continued to place their trust in us after the pilot solution in Budapest. European Union money is public money, and we have a responsibility to all members of society to use it to the best of our ability. In a future larger scale production, the unit costs will be reduced, but the human resources required for individual machining are still high.
The present project, as the question was raised in the Krakow community, is not an ordinary bench or shade structure, it is a socially conscious social initiative that cannot and does not want to compete in price with products widely marketed by international manufacturers. We are currently working on the development of prototypes, which will require constant monitoring, change tracking, redesigning, rewriting and evolution. Ongoing review of the architectural designs for modular street furniture is also part of the support. This also means that the street furniture currently installed is far from perfect, with gaps and flaws serving as a basis for our development.
