Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VARCITIES (VISIONARY NATURE BASED ACTIONS FOR HEALTH, WELLBEING & RESILIENCE IN CITIES (VARCITIES))
Période du rapport: 2023-09-01 au 2025-08-31
In an increasingly urbanizing world, governments and international corporations strive to increase productivity of cities, recognized as economy growth hubs, as well as ensuring better quality of life and living conditions to citizens. Although significant effort is performed by international organizations, researchers, etc. to transform the challenges of Cities into opportunities, the visions of our urban future are trending towards bleak. Social services and health facilities are significantly affected in negative ways owed to the increase in urban populations (70% by 2050). Air pollution and urban exacerbation of heat islands is exacerbating. Nature will struggle to compensate in the future City, as rural land is predicted to shrink by 30% affecting livability. VARCITIES puts the citizen and the “human community” in the eye of the future cities’ vision. Future cities should evolve to be human centered cities. The vision of VARCITIES is to implement real, visionary ideas and add value by establishing sustainable models for increasing H&WB of citizens that are exposed to diverse climatic conditions and challenges around Europe through shared public spaces that make cities livable and welcoming.
VARCITIES has the following specific objectives:
To shape the cities of the future by developing innovative NBS that integrate Digital, Social, and Cultural (DSC) innovation with high potential for replication across seven European cities. These solutions are grounded in real-world urban challenges and supported by practical implementation frameworks and a Replication Toolkit that showcases 18 best practice examples.
To design visionary NBS interventions that enhances citizens’ H&WB through a co-creation process involving the public, local authorities, and industry stakeholders. Building on the co-identification and co-design stages, the final co-implementation and co-evaluation phases were conducted across all pilots. Over 50 workshops, town halls, and public events were organized, engaging citizens, schools, professionals, and local groups, ensuring inclusivity and long-term value.
To assess the sustainability and overall impact of the implemented interventions, VARCITIES advanced and applied a comprehensive set of over 100 Health and Well-Being (H&WB) KPIs. These indicators were developed and validated through a combination of stakeholder input, pilot-specific priorities, and sensor-based data collection. The evaluation framework is detailed in the City Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Handbook and further substantiated through Social Return on Investment (SROI) analyses conducted across pilot sites.
To foster knowledge exchange and maximize the impact of EU investments through strategic clustering with other European, national, and regional initiatives. This is facilitated through the Healthy Cities Helix, an online community with over 789 members from 49 countries, and through collaborations with projects such as NetworkNature.
To support the sustainable transition to smart and resilient cities by developing tailored Governance, Business, and Financing (GBF) models. These models, shaped in collaboration with municipalities and stakeholders, ensure the long-term viability and adaptability of visionary solutions, supported by the Business Plan and CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA 18237:2025, D2.3).
To implement robust monitoring systems for assessing the improvements in H&WB, using real-time data collected from sensors and visualized through the Health & Well-Being Digital Platform.
To actively involve STKs in all phases of co-design, ensuring alignment with EU policy frameworks such as the New Urban Agenda, MAES, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The stakeholder engagement process is supported by a dynamic co-creation strategy and capacity-building activities.
To ensure the long-term transferability and exploitation of project results by establishing the Healthy Cities Helix and the VARCITIES Replication Toolkit, both designed to upscale best practices and foster continued collaboration among industry actors, cities, researchers, and investors beyond the life of the project.
VARCITIES has the following specific objectives:
To shape the cities of the future by developing innovative NBS that integrate Digital, Social, and Cultural (DSC) innovation with high potential for replication across seven European cities. These solutions are grounded in real-world urban challenges and supported by practical implementation frameworks and a Replication Toolkit that showcases 18 best practice examples.
To design visionary NBS interventions that enhances citizens’ H&WB through a co-creation process involving the public, local authorities, and industry stakeholders. Building on the co-identification and co-design stages, the final co-implementation and co-evaluation phases were conducted across all pilots. Over 50 workshops, town halls, and public events were organized, engaging citizens, schools, professionals, and local groups, ensuring inclusivity and long-term value.
To assess the sustainability and overall impact of the implemented interventions, VARCITIES advanced and applied a comprehensive set of over 100 Health and Well-Being (H&WB) KPIs. These indicators were developed and validated through a combination of stakeholder input, pilot-specific priorities, and sensor-based data collection. The evaluation framework is detailed in the City Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Handbook and further substantiated through Social Return on Investment (SROI) analyses conducted across pilot sites.
To foster knowledge exchange and maximize the impact of EU investments through strategic clustering with other European, national, and regional initiatives. This is facilitated through the Healthy Cities Helix, an online community with over 789 members from 49 countries, and through collaborations with projects such as NetworkNature.
To support the sustainable transition to smart and resilient cities by developing tailored Governance, Business, and Financing (GBF) models. These models, shaped in collaboration with municipalities and stakeholders, ensure the long-term viability and adaptability of visionary solutions, supported by the Business Plan and CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA 18237:2025, D2.3).
To implement robust monitoring systems for assessing the improvements in H&WB, using real-time data collected from sensors and visualized through the Health & Well-Being Digital Platform.
To actively involve STKs in all phases of co-design, ensuring alignment with EU policy frameworks such as the New Urban Agenda, MAES, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The stakeholder engagement process is supported by a dynamic co-creation strategy and capacity-building activities.
To ensure the long-term transferability and exploitation of project results by establishing the Healthy Cities Helix and the VARCITIES Replication Toolkit, both designed to upscale best practices and foster continued collaboration among industry actors, cities, researchers, and investors beyond the life of the project.
In WP3, partners co-developed a step-by-step guide for Visionary Solutions (VSs) design (D3.5) based on pilot-specific needs (D3.1–D3.3) and assessed their environmental, digital, and socio-cultural benefits (D3.4). WP4 focused on stakeholder engagement, developing and applying co-creation strategies (D4.1–D4.3) through workshops, town halls, and surveys to ensure inclusive participation.
WP6 oversaw implementation, creating an integrated framework (D6.1) and pilot-specific plans (D6.2–D6.3). All pilot cities completed their VSs (D6.4–D6.5) with co-creation feedback fully integrated. To support replication, the VARCITIES Toolkit (D6.6) compiled 28 VSs into 18 best practices with tools and templates for scaling interventions across Europe.
WP7 evaluated impacts through 100+ KPIs and a robust monitoring framework (D7.1) supported by data protocols (D7.2) early assessments (D7.3–D7.4) and SROI analyses (D7.5). WP5 advanced digital innovation, developing custom IoT sensors (D5.3) and integrating real-time data into the Health & Well-Being Platform (D5.8).
WP2 delivered a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA 18237:2025, D2.3) setting replicable standards for VSs. WP8 managed innovation, identifying Key Exploitable Results, filing patents for IoT systems (D8.1) and launching the Healthy Cities Helix network with WP9 (D8.4). Finally, WP9 led communication, policy, and clustering efforts, producing a Joint Policy Manifesto (D9.5) and Final Clustering Report (D9.6) reinforcing VARCITIES’ visibility and alignment with EU sustainability and health policies.
WP6 oversaw implementation, creating an integrated framework (D6.1) and pilot-specific plans (D6.2–D6.3). All pilot cities completed their VSs (D6.4–D6.5) with co-creation feedback fully integrated. To support replication, the VARCITIES Toolkit (D6.6) compiled 28 VSs into 18 best practices with tools and templates for scaling interventions across Europe.
WP7 evaluated impacts through 100+ KPIs and a robust monitoring framework (D7.1) supported by data protocols (D7.2) early assessments (D7.3–D7.4) and SROI analyses (D7.5). WP5 advanced digital innovation, developing custom IoT sensors (D5.3) and integrating real-time data into the Health & Well-Being Platform (D5.8).
WP2 delivered a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA 18237:2025, D2.3) setting replicable standards for VSs. WP8 managed innovation, identifying Key Exploitable Results, filing patents for IoT systems (D8.1) and launching the Healthy Cities Helix network with WP9 (D8.4). Finally, WP9 led communication, policy, and clustering efforts, producing a Joint Policy Manifesto (D9.5) and Final Clustering Report (D9.6) reinforcing VARCITIES’ visibility and alignment with EU sustainability and health policies.
The completion of VARCITIES marks a major advancement beyond the state of the art in integrating environmental intelligence, digital innovation, and participatory urban design to foster healthier and more sustainable cities. The VARCITIES Replication Toolkit reinforces this legacy by providing a structured, practical framework that guides other cities in adapting and implementing the project’s innovative solutions. It consolidates methodologies, technical tools, and lessons learned from the pilot sites into a step-by-step guide for scaling health- and wellbeing-oriented interventions, thereby ensuring sustainability and wider uptake of project outcomes. The project delivered pioneering mobile sensing systems capable of autonomously collecting environmental data, such as air quality and noise levels and GDPR compliant visitor tracking. Parallel advancements included interoperable IoT data platforms and digital twin applications that connect environmental information with urban design and human well-being indicators, providing new possibilities for evidence-based decision-making and real-time visualization. VARCITIES also pushed the boundaries of human-centred urban innovation through the development of AR/VR tools for environmental awareness. Within this framework, the project demonstrated leadership in promoting sustainable, data-driven, and service-oriented visionary solutions for smart and green cities, aligning innovation with circular economy principles and the transition to low-carbon, resilient urban infrastructures.