City, Territory and Climate
Urban Strategies
RESEARCH AREAS
City, Territory and Climate
Description
The City, Territory, and Climate Area develops scientific knowledge, advanced methodologies, computational models, and digital solutions to support strategic decision-making in the planning, management, and sustainable transformation of cities and territories.
Our work focuses on the analysis and modeling of complex socio-ecological systems, understood as dynamic systems in which environmental, climatic, energy, territorial, economic, and social processes interact. By integrating multi-source data, predictive models, geospatial intelligence, Earth observation, and advanced analytical techniques, we are able to anticipate impacts, evaluate alternatives, and design robust strategies to address the challenges of climate change and the sustainable transition.
The unit develops Decision Support Systems (DSS) tailored for public administrations and private entities, facilitating the evaluation of policies, plans, and investments through scenario analysis, risk assessment, and prospective modeling.
It operates at scales ranging from the local to the global level in areas such as urban and territorial planning, climate change adaptation, resilience, urban regeneration, sustainable natural resource management, and rural development, with the goal of fostering more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive regions.
Research Lines
- Modeling and forecasting of socio-ecological systems: Prospective models for evaluating climate, energy, and land-use policies, integrated into decision-support systems for public administrations and international organizations.
- Climate services and smart risk management: Climate Intelligence platforms and services based on artificial intelligence, Earth observation, and geospatial analysis for the monitoring, prediction, and management of climate risks (heat waves, floods, wildfires, etc.).
- Smart governance and decision support systems: Digital decision support platforms that integrate modeling, multi-stakeholder participation, and multi-criteria analysis for the strategic planning of cities and regions.
Publications
- Hernández, Bustillo, E; Álvarez, S. CCliMAP – Cambio Climático: Mitigación y Adaptación desde el Planeamiento. IX CIOT 2019 Congreso Internacional de Ordenación del Territorio (9th International Congress for Spatial Planning. ISSN: 2386-6993 (0911-0911).
- Ramos, I; Ferreras, N; Serna, V; Hernández, G; Álvarez, S; Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation Planning tool (CCMA-Planning). An integrated diagnosis tool for land use planning evaluation. 55th ISOCARP World Planning Congress, 2019. ISBN: 9789075524628.
- Hernández, G; Serna, V; Massa, G. Valmaseda, C. ENERGIS: Tool For Demand Characterisation In Urban Settings To Support Energy Planning At Different Scales. Cool Planning: Changing Climate and our Urban Future – 54th ISOCARP Congress 2018. ISBN: 978-94-90354-54-1.
- Hernández, G; Serna, V; Massa, G. Valmaseda, C. Energy planning support with geomapping tool and energy demand estimation: THE ENERGIS PLATFORM. The Eighth International Conference on Smart Grids, Green Communications and IT Energy-aware Technologies. ENERGY 2018. ISBN: 978-1-61208-635-4.
- Capellán-Pérez, I., de Blas, I., Nieto, J., de Castro, C., Miguel, L.J., Mediavilla M., Carpintero, Ó., Fernando Lobejón, L., Ferreras-Alonso, N., Rodrigo, P., Frechoso, F., Álvarez Antelo, D, Lomas,, P., Parrado Hernando, G. “MEDEAS-World: a new IAM framework integrating biophysical and socioeconomic constraints.” Conference: 11th Annual Meeting of the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium (IAMC 2018) At: Sevilla (Spain).
Reference clients:
Team
Ali Vasallo Belver
Head of Energy Division
Estefanía Vallejo Ortega
Head of City, Territory and Climate Area
Related projects
PeriASTY
PeriASTY tiene como objetivo acelerar la transición hacia la neutralidad climática en áreas periurbanas. Desarrolla y demuestra soluciones innovadoras en movilidad, energía, industria y gobernanza mediante tecnologías y modelos de negocio “net-zero”
PACES Logroño 2025
The purpose is to engage technical assistance for the preparation and development, within the framework of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, of the Climate and Sustainable Energy Action Plan (hereinafter PACES) for the Municipality of Logroño
CLIMRES
CLIMRES aims to foster a ‘Leadership for Climate Resilient Buildings’, by addressing the identification and systematic categorisation of buildings’ vulnerabilities and estimating their impact in the buildings’ ecosystem considering the interlinkages within the urban context.
SGA2-NZC
NetZeroCities (NZC) project’s main objective is to support cities selected by the European Commission to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, in line with the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.
HYDRA
HYDRA focuses on understanding and addressing the potential impact of widespread hydrogen use on climate, environment and society. The project assesses a scenario of high hydrogen penetration in the energy mix.
MOBILITIES FOR EU
MOBILITIES for EU aims to accelerate the transformation of cities towards climate neutrality through innovative solutions in passenger and freight mobility.
SGA1-NZC
SGA1-NZC has as an objective give support to 100 cities selected to be intelligent and climate neutral by 2030.
IAM COMPACT
IAM COMPACT supports the assessment of global climate goals, progress, and feasibility space, and the design of the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and policy planning beyond 2030 for major emitters and non-high-income countries.
ASCEND
ASCEND aims to accelerate the implementation of Positive Clean Energy Districts (PCEDs) for the transformation of cities towards climate neutrality and social justice in Europe. To this end, Ascend will carry out the following measures.
BUILDSPACE
BUILDSPACE aims to couple terrestrial data from buildings with aerial imaging from drones equipped with thermal cameras and location annotated data from satellite services to deliver innovative services for the building and urban stakeholders and support informed decision making towards energy-efficient buildings and climate resilient cities.