URBREATH Horizon Europe Project

Our #URBREATH_eu General Assembly took place in Madrid last week. We’re grateful to Madrid and the Madrid Cluster for their hospitality and inspiring insights into NBS. From Wednesday to Friday, we had productive discussions and made significant technical advancements. Excited for more exciting experiences and collaborations! Thomas Adolphi Maximilien D. URBREATH Horizon Europe Project

I realize this could come off as a bit tacky but I never imagined my job will be so enjoyable, and I often find myself reflecting on how grateful I am to be doing something I truly believe in 🙌 These thoughts came to mind once again during my recent experience at the URBREATH Horizon Europe Project project’s General Assembly in Madrid. This project tackles climate change through nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban settings, with the goal of enhancing city resilience and improving the quality of life for residents 🌍 Our work spans across four frontrunner cities - Madrid, Leuven, Tallinn, and Cluj-Napoca - as well as five follower cities Pilsen, Aarhus, Athens, Kajaani, and Parma. Together, we are developing adaptable solutions that can cater to different climate zones across Europe. Alongside my colleague Alisa Krumm, I am responsible for leading the performance evaluation and impact assessment of these NBS interventions, ensuring they are both measurable and replicable. Meanwhile, Niklas Effenberger and Lena Posselt are focused on scaling these solutions through knowledge transfer and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring our work has a far-reaching impact. The tasks we are engaged in are critical for creating infrastructure that can adapt to and mitigate climate risks, ultimately promoting long-term urban resilience. Excited to see the first results and share them with the community!

I cycle along the water this morning. Around me some walkers with dry backs unlike mine. Our rush to work is taken aback by the breathing river that accompanies our paths. Meandering, the water patiently continues its way. Forming an island here or more upstream a marshy-looking landscape with reeds piled high. Ignoring the large stone basin, where this play between plants, animals and water takes place, it gives a rural sight. The Manzanares River in Madrid seems more like a stream trying to be a river. “It is indeed a modest river” the guide tells me on a later tour. It is hard to imagine that in this place before this green wilderness sprouted a six-lane highway up to two stories high cut through the city of Madrid. A clogged artery of puffing cars, impatiently honking commuters and humming trucks. A lane that literally choked the Manzanares River in many places or left it gasping for breath at best. None of this now. Laughing students and chirping parakeets, the wind rustling through the leaves of the elms, the crunch of the gravel under my tires and a mossy smell indicating the beginning of autumn. Good work has been done. So good that when a European colleague Beatrice Maria Bellè told me about the hidden highway underneath, I simply could not believe it. It's safe to say that there is a Madrid before and after the Río project. The city first had to dig a multi-lane highway partly under the city before a 146-acre park could take its place in return. And that just a stone's throw from the center of a bustling metropolis. Restoration of the river itself was last in line. Upon completion, the sky could once again reflect in the water without interruption from the falling dredge of the highway above. The final crucial intervention was the removal of the dams that artificially maintained the water level in the river returning it to its cyclical origins. And then? And then they just left the river alone. Seeds from the nature reserve above the city were unpacked like presents. Elm grew to 6 feet tall in the first two years, and foxes returned to town after 70 years. A natural corridor through the city rediscovered itself. Also, the highway acted as a barrier between two economically disparate neighborhoods. The project thus weaved nature and two disconnected populations together in one fell swoop. With a resilient piece of city as a result. While slaloming around lost pedestrians on the parcs biking path, I regained a sense of hope. Even in our polarizing times courageous local politicians really can make a difference. Representing Climate Alliance, I visited this incredible place as part of meet-up with my colleagues at URBREATH Horizon Europe Project, a project that envisions to turn several pilot sites around with the help of nature. Alicia Carvajal Rowan Mónica Gutiérrez Herrero Manuel Alméstar Francesco Mureddu Marcella Bonanomi Giuseppe Ciulla Niklas Effenberger Jurgen Silence Marina K. 📢 Link to the complete article: