URBREATH is a project dedicated to Systemic Integration of Transformative Technical and Nature-based Solutions to Improve Climate Neutrality of European Cities and Regions and tackle Climate Change: the URBreath Approach.
URBREATH vision is to develop, implement, demonstrate, validate and replicate a comprehensive, community participation and NBS-driven urban revitalisation, resilience and climate neutrality paradigm that will ultimately radically enhance the social interactions,inclusion, equitability and liveability in cities.
URBREATH begins with a simple idea: the transition towards climate neutrality is more effective when communities help shape it. The project places communities at the heart of decisions about their neighbourhoods, inviting them to shape how nature, technology and urban planning can work together. From this starting point, URBREATH develops, implements, demonstrates, validates and replicates a comprehensive approach to urban revitalisation, resilience and climate neutrality, driven by community participation and Nature Based Solutions. Its aim is to implement hybrid solutions with Nature Based Solutions at their core, creating cities that are greener, more resilient, more connected, inclusive, equitable and liveable. Advanced techniques, particularly Local Digital Twins, together with social innovation, support the achievement of this vision. The project has four phases: 1. Inception, 2. Development, 3. Piloting and 4. Transition. Each phase builds on the previous one. Preliminary results are evaluated during the following phase, allowing feedback to be incorporated and the proposed methods, tools and solutions to be continuously improved. The first phase, Inception, established the methodology guiding the development of the project and defined its functional and technical requirements. This created a shared foundation for the cities, communities and project partners involved. The second phase, Development, has transformed these requirements into the URBREATH technical framework. This framework consists of tools that manage the entire data value chain and enable end users to collaborate in designing and creating Nature Based Solutions for their cities and neighbourhoods. It helps communities and local authorities explore possible interventions, monitor their implementation and make evidence based decisions regarding the solutions being implemented and deployed during the Piloting phase. The third phase, Piloting, moves the project from development to practice. The URBREATH framework and the proposed Nature Based Solutions are being implemented, monitored and validated in 4 Front Runner Cities representing four different climatic zones: Cluj-Napoca (RO - Continental), Leuven (BE - Atlantic), Madrid (ES - Mediterranean), and Tallinn (EE - Boreal). Each city provides a real urban setting in which the project’s methods, technologies and solutions are tested and refined. The fourth phase, Transition, brings the knowledge generated by the project beyond the four pilot cities. Information, results and lessons learned throughout the previous phases are collected and analysed to produce practical recommendations, foster replication activities and support the wider uptake of URBREATH outputs during and beyond the project’s lifespan. To support this process, 5 Follower Cities are involved: Aarhus (DK), Athens (EL), Kajaani (FI), Parma (IT), and Pilsen (CZ). Each is connected to a Front Runner City based on its climatic zone, urban characteristics or scale, allowing the URBREATH approach to be adapted and replicated in different European contexts.
