Sebastian Schlecht
Strategic Management for the Environment, Traffic and Sports Department, European Green Capital
City of Essen
Biography
Sebastian Schlecht is an architect with a focus on urban development and has worked for the city of Essen since 2010. Until 2015 as project manager in the real estate sector, he has taken over the management for the "Green Capital of Europe - Essen 2017" in office of the vice mayor responsible for the department of Environment, Construction and Sports with winning the title. The focus of his work today is the strategic management of the continuation of the goals of the Green Capital of Europe in the intersection of environment, mobility, climate protection & climate adaptation and the grey, green & blue infrastructure. In this context Sebastian Schlecht does also present the goals and concepts of the city of Essen internationally, e.g. at the COP24 in Katowice or in the context of the congress ResilienCities2019 and COP25 in Madrid. Sebastian is representative of the city of Essen in the Urban Transitions Alliance since it was founded 2017 by ICLEI. The department today changed its focus from construction to mobility and is leading the climate adaptation and mitigation strategies of the city of Essen. He has additionally high experience in the topic of build environment education and participation in urban development.
In addition to his work for the City of Essen, Sebastian Schlecht has voluntary engagements:
Rutgers Climate Bridge Panel 1: Impact on People
Abstract
The city of Essen as a central part of the Ruhr Metropolis is an urban landscape in a permanent transition. This region did transform from a former natural habitat to become one of the most important industrial areas in Europe and even in the world - and to be today one of the biggest conurbations of Europe. With the decline of dominant industrial branches a new wave of transformation was a must. As industry and the neighborhoods of workers concentrated mostly in the north of the region, the environmental pollution, unemployment and social segregation also today have a geographical shape. By taking the chance to convert industrial leftovers to green and cultural places of daily life, the city of Essen implemented several programs for greening, upgrading and connecting people and places. Climate Change is today one strong driver for transformation. With lessons learned from the past we can today build on this knowledge but still have to level up interdisciplinary to build the resilient, green, productive and inclusive metropolis of the future.