Because of my focus on these developments, my colleagues now call me ‘Miss Heat-Lead’.

The story of Anna Goede

What’s unique about Witteveen+Bos is that you’re supported by an entire office and you can reckon on engaged colleagues.

In 2020 we published the National Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) Map, together with Wageningen University & Research and Climate Adaptation Services. The map is accessible for everybody and displays the apparent temperature for the whole of the Netherlands on a hot summer’s day. It was created using open-source data. An algorithm was created for which colleagues from various sectors provided input and collaborated on data analysis. Without that collaboration among colleagues, we would never have been able to publish the map.

The PET map was included in the Climate Impact Atlas, which contains a range of maps that indicate the threat of (pluvial) flooding and drought as the result of climate change. Following publication of our map, we received a request from the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) to produce a real-time ‘cool spots’ checker for Amsterdam. My speciality is smart and healthy cities, so a request like that was right up my alley. Several colleagues and I designed a data-driven tool and put it online, all within a month. We’re now busy working on the further development of both the PET map and cool spots checker, which may lead to new applications. Because of my focus on these developments, my colleagues now call me ‘Miss Heat-Lead’.