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AELCLIC project
The goal of the AELCLIC project (Adaptation of European Landscapes to Climate Change) is to define and test models to create networks of regional/local stakeholders with the social, financial, administrative, and technical capacity to co-define a plan to adapt the landscape to climate change.
This plan is intended to be an integrated, systemic solution (i.e. non-sectoral) and an informational document to support territorial and sector planning, as well as a reference for public or private initiatives in matters of adapting to and mitigating climate change. It includes policies, strategies, pilot actions, and regional/local initiatives aimed at promoting adaptation to climate change and is defined in a process based on the joint involvement of various local and regional interest holders.
AELCLIC has breathed life into different regional/local stakeholder networks, constituting a set of European pilot landscapes selected strategically in order to cover a range of climate, socioeconomic, cultural, and biogeographical strata in Europe, and to produce highly transferrable, scalable models.
On the local scale for the pilot landscape of Bologna, the project has entailed a diagnosis of the impacts of climate change on the local economy and the life, environment, cultural heritage, and well-being of inhabitants. The diagnosis is based on all interest holders identifying the impacts together, relying on existing studies and reports on the national and regional/local levels; and a co-defined document containing the issues and main content in a future plan for adaptation to climate change of the landscape of the area.
Project Leader: Juanjo Galan (Aalto University, Finland)
Coordinator for implementation in the pilot area of south-eastern Europe: University of Bologna
Additional partners in the pilot area of Bologna: City of Bologna, Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana.
European Urban Agenda
After signing the Pact of Amsterdam in June 2016, which instituted the Urban Agenda for the European Union and fixed the areas and timelines, 12 partnerships began for collaboration to address as many priorities.
The City of Bologna, together with the Polish Ministry for Economic Development, were chosen to coordinate the working group on sustainable land use and nature-based solutions.
One of the objectives of the partnership is to clarify and simplify the language with which the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS) is communicated. In fact, the use of a simple, correct language is fundamental since the concept of NBS is still not universally clear or applied uniformly in all countries, including the relationship with concepts such as ‘green infrastructure’, ‘ecosystem services’, and ‘green corridors’. This leads to the existence of a civil society that is little informed and has limited access and involvement in initiatives to apply NBS and the positive effects that may be obtained.
In addition, citizens might show a low level of appreciation and acceptance for measures that promote sustainable urban development (e.g. green spaces converted into wells to collect rainwater rather than car parks) since the benefits are not always explained or communicated properly.
This is why the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana, the University of Bologna, and the City of Bologna have come together to draft a glossary, a tool regarding NBS and their application in urban centres that is easy to use and understand.
The glossary is therefore aimed at:
- simplifying the language and providing recommendations to different stakeholders through the creation of a standardized vocabulary conforming to the one used in European projects focused on NBS, thereby providing institutions and citizens with a complete set of clear terms that are simple to use.
- facilitating joint work to create and standardize a vocabulary regarding NBS for use by the scientific and institutional communities, experts in communication, and experts in the sector.
The NBS glossary was created by the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana, the City of Bologna, and the University of Bologna with the support of the European Commission.
Just Transformation Emilia-Romagna 2020 for Europe’s Heavy Industrial and Coal Regions
The project Just Transformation in Emilia-Romagna 2020 for Europe’s Heavy Industrial and Coal Regions is coordinated by ART-ER with the participation of the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana and IIPP (Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose) at University College London.
The itinerary falls under the EIT Climate-KIC Deep Demonstrations initiative. Just Transformation in Emilia-Romagna is a partnership with the regional government (problem owner) to develop a package of innovative initiatives to accelerate the equitable, sustainable transition of the regional territory through the involvement of all interested public/private subjects and in service of numerous existing initiatives, such as the permanent regional climate change forum.
One fundamental aspect is the direct connection with communities and citizens, and with the most vulnerable bands in particular, whose applications should be incorporated in processes of transition through listening and co-design activities.
The objective is to facilitate the conversion of Emilia-Romagna into a region with low CO2 emissions and good air quality. By virtue of its consolidated experience in terms of stakeholder participation and involvement, the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana works within the consortium on activities related to studying and mapping territorial players, analysing needs, and studying methods of engagement and involvement. In defining the activities, particular focus falls on the Foundation’s commitment to involve the most fragile swaths of the population and study solutions that consider the post-COVID situation.
Project leader: Art-ER
Budget: €44,000 EIT + €11,000 co-financing (20%).
The MICROBE project
The MICROBE project (Minimizing the influence of coronavirus in a built environment) aims to enrich university education with modules designed to respond to the concrete needs of the labour market and companies, with a particular focus on demands and needs arising from the COVID crisis.
The project also makes use of innovative technologies such as video neuroanalytics and Web-based opinion analytics to develop methods of protection against COVID-19 and to reduce the impact of the economic depression starting with the built environment and with the assistance of 3 new personalized MOOC modules. Finally, MICROBE sets the long-term objective of reinforcing the relationship between universities and the scientific and educational world on the European level.
The Fondazione per l'Innovazione Urbana is a partner in the project.
Project leader: Vilniaus Gediminas Technical University
Budget: €70,870.00
Timeline: Starting 1 September 2020. Total duration: 36 months. End: 31 August 2023
Web site: microbe-erasmus.com
