UIA Knowledge Lab

CartujaQanat - Journal 3: A 10°C reduction with ZeroNet energy consumption in open spaces is possible. Sevilla made it.

The Sevilla CartujaQanat program is by design, an ambitious and particularly relevant program for regions facing extreme heat phenomena and for urban ...

Co-management and activation of large urban spaces in the era of climate transformation

This zoom-in article focuses on the New Governance and Social Innovation component of the project Cartuja-Qanat in Sevilla, which aims to propose an i...

CartujaQanat – Recovering the Street Life in a Climate Changing World Journal 2: How is Sevilla moving the needle in the fight to urban climate transformation

Sevilla in Spain, will be the battleground of Europe for extreme urban heat. A pilot space containing an amphitheatre, an underground gallery and open...

The Urban Commons in the era of public health emergencies: How Sevilla and the UIA community is problem-solving for safeguarding public space and public life in the face of increased risk

While images of empty cities made the world-tour and provoked understandable owe, empty and limited public space is in fact an imminent if not ever-pr...

More than sewage and water pipes. How a water company in Spain becomes a driver of urban transformation

The Metropolitan Water Supply and Sanitation Company of Sevilla (EMASESA) is the coordinating Partner in the Urban Innovative Actions Program ‘Cartuja...

Bringing together the key areas of Climate change, Social Innovation and Public Space revitalisation

In this Journal, UIA Expert Kostantina Karydi explores the achievements of the first year of the Sevilla CartujaQanat project across eight selected go...

RESILIO smart Blue-Green roofs: looking into the future

RESILIO was completed in April 2022 and the developed roofs are flourishing. A year and a half later, we explore the legacy the project left behind fo...

Zoom-In article: Are smart blue-green roofs climate-proof themselves?

While RESILIO roofs contribute to climate adaptation (heat, flooding, biodiversity), we need to be sure that the green infrastructure is drought proof...

Journal 3 – Completing and delivering the RESILIO smart blue-green roofs

Finalised roof of the Premselahuis Innovation Lab, used to test alternative design options and evaluate their efficiency. ...

Are Amsterdam’s blue-green roofs good value-for-money for the city? Applying a Total Economic Value framework to urban Nature-based Solutions

Assessing the hydraulic performance of Blue-Green Infrastructure: the case study of Amsterdam's adaptive smart network blue-green roofs

A stepped process to evaluate the true potential of adaptive-blue green roofs for reducing flood risk ...

Engaging citizens in the development of multi-purpose Nature Based Solutions: how the RESILIO blue-green roofs project connects with communities

Why, how and when to engage citizens in the development of NBS? what are the challenges of engagement to be aware off?...

RESILIO's Journal #2: From planning to development

This is the 2nd Journal article describing progress of the RESILIO activities and associated implementation challenges. The purpose is to provide a nu...

Blue-Green roofs as accessible space in a 1.5-meter distance world?

Photo of the De Boel smart blue-green roof at Amsterdam Zuid (photo credits: De Dakdokters)...

RESILIO Journal: developing a network of innovative and smart rooftops in the city of Amsterdam

Through an analysis and contextualization of the 7 implementation challenges, UIA expert Leon Kapetas presents the RESILIO project, which aims to deve...

Smart Blue-Green Roofs of Amsterdam: Why you should be interested and how to get involved in the RESILIO project

RESILIO is the new Climate Adaptation project that takes place in Amsterdam and will install 10,000 m2 of Blue-Green Roofs on social housing complexes...

Creating Healthy Air Quality in Schools

In this zoom-in, the issue of outdoor and indoor air quality in schools is discussed on the occasion of the project GBG_A2CC of the City of Barcelona....

A blueprint of actions at the city scale for a successful adaptation plan to climate change - Recommendations from the Barcelona GBG_AS2C project

This Web article presents a blueprint of actions for cities to draft their own adaptation plan to climate change, also exploiting their local knowledg...

Evaluation - An indispensable component of innovation projects

Evaluation is an indispensable component of any project, especially innovation ones. It provides an understanding of the reliability of the applied me...

Upscaling with a vision - The school yard as a school

In this Web Article, the upscaling plan of the Climate Shelters project of the City of Barcelona is presented. The plan reflects a vision, namely to c...

Journal No. 3 The “final mile” of the Climate Shelters project: communication, evaluation and replication

The Journal (the 3rd for the Climate Shelters project) aims to provide an overview of the progress of the Climate Shelters project, with emphasis give...

Cultivating a School Culture for Climate Action - The Barcelona example

In a world that’s becoming increasingly complex, there is a need to prepare especially young people for a future that will require good knowledge, an ...

Indicators as tools for Adaptation to Climate Change at the city scale - The Climate Shelters project of the City of Barcelona

In this Web Article, the approach of the City of Barcelona towards the development of Performance Indicators as tools for Adaptation to Climate Change...

Changing the lens in urban design to cope with the impacts of climate change to health - The Barcelona approach

Protecting citizens at the neighbourhood scale in the event of heat waves is at the core of the Climate Shelters project of the City of Barcelona. Rea...

Barcelona’s pilot project to beat the heat

It is only 10 am but air temperature in Barcelona is already high; another heat wave has hit the city, causing the further enhancement of the heat isl...

Barcelona: a city in climate action

Image of the Can Fabras school yard following the conversion of the school to Climate Shelter ...

Adapting Barcelona to Climate Change: A multi-criteria approach for the selection of schools to be converted to Climate Shelters - Zoom In

This zoom in focuses on a challenging feature of the Barcelona “Climate Shelters” UIA project, namely the methodology and criteria for the selection o...

Barcelona’s Climate Shelters project The challenge of communicating unwelcome messages on climate change

To connect with people and communicate climate change effectively, one should convey more than climate facts to people. Instead, there is a need to un...

Science in the City

Image of Barcelona by Kaspars Upmanis on Unsplash...

GBG_AS2C journal: Climate shelters in Barcelona

In this journal, UIA Expert Constantinos Cartalis provides a contextualization of the Climate Shelters project within the policy context of the Europe...

Ecostreets 2.0 – upscaling of a successful IGNITION practice

It was not in the plan of the IGNITION project, but under the COVID 19 restrictions, the project had to review its citizen engagement activities. It h...

The IGNITION Green Infrastructure Explorer turns data into a powerful practical urban planning tool

Over the course of the IGNITION project, it became evident that not only the financing schemes and business models to implement nature-based solutions...

The project ended, but the journey has just started - IGNITION Journal 4

After three years of intensive work, the IGNITION project came to an end in spring 2022. It started with the idea of developing innovative financing m...

The legacy of IGNITION: Multiple support tools making co-investment for nature-based solutions work

The goal of IGNITION, which started in November 2018, was to develop innovative financing schemes for the implementation of large-scale nature-based s...

Ecostreets – How small-scale action can inspire large-scale solutions

Over summer 2021, the IGNITION partner Groundworks in collaboration with the charity We love Manchester organized a competition among local communitie...

First tangible results and a continuous learning loop - IGNITION Journal n3

With roughly half a year left to its end, the project’s results are taking shape, such as the fully functioning Living Lab with its multiple interconn...

The long and winding road to financing nature-based solutions

Unlocking innovative sources of finance for nature-based solutions is a critical but challenging goal facing many city regions across Europe....

The IGNITION project: How support for greenspace has increased during Covid-19 pandemic

The multiple and immensely negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are felt almost everywhere and at all times. When the IGNITION project started in 2...

IGNITION’s Living Lab for nature-based solutions - more than a nice experiment

“The Living Lab at the University of Salford will be a critical element of the project.” That is what I was told at the beginning of the IGNITION proj...

IGNITION Journal 2: get an update about Greater Manchester's project

IGNITION is mid-way on its journey to develop innovative financing for nature-based solutions. In this 2nd Journal, UIA expert Birgit Georgi sees a su...

How IGNITION found an innovative approach to collaborate with its diverse team

Finding innovative solutions goes beyond business as usual approaches, though the driving partner might lack the specific skills and expertise require...

Knowledgeable citizens push for more green - Zoom In 1 IGNITION

First Zoom In of the UIA project IGNITION and visualisation of the project’s citizen engagement activities....

IGNITION Expert Journal 1: Get to know the project and what happened in the first 6 months!

In her 1st Journal, Birgit Georgi, UIA expert of the GSIP project, discusses all key activities that you need to know about, what the project is about...

How to convince investors that nature-based solutions are good to invest in?

IGNITION aims to develop innovative financing of nature-based solutions for climate resilience. The lead partner Greater Manchester Combined Authority...

The GUARDIAN Project - Journal nº4

Prescribed burning in GUARDIAN project: what could have been but never was…

In this article the UIA expert Elsa Pastor delves into the significance of prescribed fire, an activity initially programmed in GUARDIAN, a vital comp...

Demonstrating GUARDIAN economic feasibility

In this article the UIA expert Elsa Pastor digs into the ecosystem services’ valuation of La Vallesa forest to demonstrate the economic viability of t...

Zoom in: GUARDIAN community engagement - How can residents contribute to fire resilience

In this zoom-in the UIA expert Elsa Pastor digs into the participatory approach that GUARDIAN has implemented to engage communities within the global ...

Looking at the GUARDIAN system’s “brain”: The NetSense SIDEINFO platform

In this article we show the main features of the monitoring, control and intelligence system that Medi XXI has designed for the GUARDIAN project. This...

GUARDIAN is officially inaugurated!

In this article we provide all the details of the GUARDIAN official opening event that took place at Riba-roja and Paterna last April 7th. It was a gr...

GUARDIAN Journal 3: get an update about Riba Roja de Turia's project

In the third Journal of the Guardian project UIA expert Elsa Pastor reports on project progress during year 2021. She also analyses cross-cutting impl...

Zoom-in: Interview to Ferran Dalmau, MSc on Wildland Fire Science and Integrative Management, Medi XXI CEO

In this Zoom-in we summarize the conversation that we had with Ferran on less visible yet important aspects of the GUARDIAN project. During the interv...

Analysing the economic viability of GUARDIAN: current challenges and expected outcomes

In this article we present a preliminary overview of the methods and challenges that prof. Francesc Hérnandez and his team at Universitat de València ...

Innovative fuel management at GUARDIAN: the green firebreaks

The main axis on which GUARDIAN's integrated fire management strategy pivots is the construction of green firebreaks, a fire management infrastructure...

GUARDIAN works are in the spotlight!

GUARDIAN works are progressing at full speed this spring, as the initial commissioning of the entire hydraulic infrastructure is expected in 3 months’...

GUARDIAN Journal 2: get an update about Riba Roja de Turia's project

In the second Journal of the Guardian project UIA expert Elsa Pastor reports on project progress during year 2020. She also analyses cross-cutting imp...

Unsupervised irrigation, how GUARDIAN scientists satisfy their thirst for innovation

Automatic preventive irrigation through water canyons is one of the several fire management actions that GUARDIAN is implementing at La Vallesa Wildla...

The smart use of water to fight WUI fires

Water scarcity is increasing in many European countries, being the climate change crisis and the growing water demand in urban areas their main driver...

GUARDIAN Expert Journal 1: Get to know the project and what happened in the first 6 months!

In her 1st Journal, Elsa Pastor, UIA expert of the GUARDIAN project, discusses all key activities that you need to know about GUARDIAN, what the proje...

Learning to live with WUI fires

While fire has been one of the most relevant elements for the advancement of mankind, paradoxically it has also been -and still is- the responsible fo...

OASIS takes off! - Final Journal

In spring 2023, the OASIS Schoolyard project concluded with its UIA pilot phase of transforming and evaluating the performance of 10 schoolyards. Toda...

How does it feel to be the Director of an OASIS School?

Four School Directors share their experiences of being in charge of a not-so-mainstream schoolyard that introduces a new role of this outdoor space in...

Tips n’ Tricks for a Green and Playful Schoolyard! Join us at the upcoming webinar and learn about the OASIS recommendations.

The City of Paris, in collaboration with the CAUE75 - the consortium partner responsible for the design of the schoolyards’ transformation, has compil...

From co-design to co-implementation of the OASIS Schoolyards

Leveraging on the experience gained by transforming other OASIS Schoolyards this past year, the OASIS partnership decided to explore a different parti...

OASIS Schoolyards Journal 2: Welcoming the newly transformed schoolyards

The OASIS journey: From the co-design process to the final transformation of schoolyards

In her first Zoom-in, Maria Sitzoglou, UIA Expert for the OASIS Schoolyards project, presents the project journey from the co-design phase until the a...

Aiming for Healthier Neighborhoods in your city? The OASIS approach is probably what you have been looking for!

The vision for healthy and cohesive neighborhoods lies at the heart of the OASIS Schoolyards project. As 9 out of 10 schoolyards are now transformed, ...

Back-to-School(yard)! How the OASIS Schoolyards offer a solution to the global dilemma for re-opening schools.

As the end of summer is approaching, governments around the world are seeking ways to safely re-open their schools and welcome their pupils in class. ...

OASIS Expert Journal 1: Get to know the project and what happened in the first 6 months!

In her 1st Journal, Maria Sitzoglou, UIA expert of the OASIS project, discusses all key activities that you need to know about it, what the project is...

Paris is creating an OASIS in the heart of its neighborhoods and why more cities should follow.

Air-Break Final Journal

This final Journal provides an overview of the progress and long-term impact of the Air-Break project in Ferrara, focusing on the key components that ...

Citizen Science – A double-edged blade. Perspectives from the debate emerged in Ferrara

Citizen science, a method that brings non-experts into the fold of scientific research and data collection, has emerged as a powerful tool in addressi...

Prato Urban Jungle - Journal #3

The PUJ project has continued experimenting and testing nature-based solution to create urban jungles and forests in Prato! ...

Prato Urban Jungle a case study for Integrated Territorial Development

The PUJ project in Prato has been selected as one of the twelve good practice cities within the study on Integrated Territorial Development (ITD) as p...

The Macrolotto Zero Urban Jungle!

The Prato Urban Jungle project tested nature based solutions (NBS) in different pilot sites of the city in order to carry out innovative strategies to...

UIA Call 3: Read our Topic Coordinators findings from the proposals submitted

Four papers give insight into the main trends in the proposals submitted under Call 3....

The Climate Shelters project - Climate innovation to beat the heat

In his 2nd Zoom-in, Constantinos Cartalis, UIA Expert for the Climate Shelters (Adapting Schools to Climate Change through green, blue and grey Soluti...

Boosting green businesses and jobs in Greater Manchester

In this Zoom-in, UIA expert Birgit Georgi tells how the IGNITION project triggered the creation of new businesses, business segments and more jobs; ...

Finding innovative ways for local authorities to boost greenspace and nature-based solutions

This Zoom-in reflects on the lessons learned in the IGNITION project on the way to find wider options for local authorities – despite challenges - to ...

Experience and learned lessons from procuring innovative solutions – IGNITION’s Living Lab

A core element of the IGNITION innovation project is the Living Lab at the campus of the University of Salford. Here, different nature-based solutions...

The water reclamation plant

In the 1st zoom-in of the GUARDIAN project, UIA expert Elsa Pastor dives into the first piece of water infrastructure designed and implemented in GUAR...

Nature Based Leadership and the Green Minds systems approach - Zoom-in

Keeping the balance between doing too much and not doing enough is challenging, implicitly necessitating an overall integrated perspective and strateg...