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GreenInCities

Project description

A holistic approach to address urban inequality

In neglected urban areas, persistent issues such as pollution, social disparities, and inadequate infrastructure pose major problems for communities. Residents endure low-quality built environments and lack access to essential services and green spaces, impacting their well-being and quality of life. Meanwhile, conventional regeneration strategies and smart technologies have primarily benefited affluent districts, exacerbating the urban divide. In this context, the EU-funded GreenInCities project aims to address disparities by prioritising societal awareness, advancing beyond conventional greening methods, and integrating cutting-edge tech. The overall goal is to enhance liveability, functionality, and resilience in vulnerable communities. Embracing nature as a stakeholder, GreenInCities pioneers a holistic approach to climate adaptation, fostering inclusive and sustainable urban environments for all.

Objective

In recent decades, new planning paradigms have reshaped cities. Urban regeneration has renovated public spaces, redeveloped city centers, and established innovation districts. Smart cities have implemented technological systems, such as transport management, water and contamination monitoring, and energy-efficient buildings. A new sustainable approach, including recycling, renaturalization, and recovery, has emerged in response to the demand for environmental sensitivity in urban planning.
These strategies have mainly been applied to wealthy areas to attract tourism and companies, repositioning cities in the global economic framework. However, applying these regeneration strategies, smart systems, and renaturalization processes to deprived areas is crucial. These areas tend to face multiple urban problems, such as pollution, social and cultural issues, lack of services and low-quality built environments, and public spaces, leading to issues related to liveability, functionality, quality of life, social cohesiveness, and physical and mental health.
Moreover, there is a growing need for climate change adaptation strategies, which has led to the implementation of Nature Based Solutions (NBS). However, a new pattern is emerging, which considers nature as a stakeholder in itself, beyond the ecosystem services it provides. Innovative technologies such as AI, machine learning, and immersive realities are also emerging, which can enhance the accuracy of information delivery and people engagement. GreenIn Cities aims to develop methodologies and tools for collaborative climate mitigation and adaptation urban planning approaches, specifically for deprived areas, addressing three main challenges: improving societal readiness level and awareness of vulnerable groups, going beyond classical greening and renaturing interventions, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance co-creation and maximize urban regeneration impacts.

Coordinator

INSTITUT D'ARQUITECTURA AVANCADA DE CATALUNYA
Net EU contribution
€ 882 500,00
Address
CARRER PUJADES 102
08005 Barcelona
Spain

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 882 500,00

Participants (30)