As cities seek to achieve carbon neutrality, the integration of nature-based solutions (NBSs) with renewable energy sources (RESs) presents both an opportunity and a challenge, requiring an interdisciplinary approach and an innovative planning strategy. This paper published in Designs 2025, 9(3), 60, Special Issue on Positive Energy Districts, aims to explore potential ways of achieving synergies between NBSs and RESs that contribute to urban climate neutrality. Continue reading
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Intelligent Cities – Smart Cities – Innovation Ecosystems
A new open-access paper on carbon-neutral smart cities published in World Development. The paper delves into the current EU policy and strategy for advancing smart carbon–neutral development across Europe, as outlined by the EU Cities Mission, which aims to boost climate neutrality across 112 cities by 2030. Primary objective of the paper is to explore synergies between theoretical concepts and their practical application in realising smart carbon–neutral development. We examine the challenges associated with scaling up this type of development alongside the systemic changes required to achieve significant levels for mitigation and adaptation. Continue reading
Smart Green Ecosystems is a new project co-designed by URENIO Research and approved by Interreg NEXT MED in the framework of Smarter Mediterranean. It aims to establish an ecosystem of 100 SMEs from four Mediterranean countries (Greece, Cyprus, Tunisia, and Jordan) to foster collaboration and support digital and green transitions. The project aligns with three EU policies: the new industrial strategy for ecosystem development, the digital, and the green transition strategies.
The Land Best Paper Award Committee selected the research paper “Net Zero Energy Districts: Connected Intelligence for Carbon-Neutral Cities” as the Second prize of the Land 2022 Best Paper Award.
The committee determined the award based on an overall evaluation of the papers’ originality and significance, considering citations and downloads. Six winners were chosen, including three research papers and three review papers. The announcement has been officially released here. Continue reading
Launched in 2017, the smart cities book series publishes a collection of insights into the diverse constitution of smart cities. In collecting these insights, the series publishes research, which improves both theory and practice of smart cities and transfers the knowledge acquired to scholars, policymakers and practitioners alike. Continue reading
Digitally Disrupted Space: Proximity and New Development Opportunities for Regions and Cities, by Anastasia Panori, has just been published by Elsevier Smart Cities Series.
The book develops an analytical framework of the digital space structural elements and their impact on existing spatial interactions at the urban and regional levels. The book puts forth the argument that digital space is a new form of space acting complementary to existing spatial structures and creating novel interactions between and/or within them. It explores three research questions: (a) What disruptions do digital technologies introduce to the concept of space, specifically in terms of space dynamics, space connectors, and space routines? (b) How does the digital space impact the twin transition? (c) What challenges does the digital space present for regional development, particularly in terms of productivity, resilience, and inclusion? Continue reading
The Climate City Contract was signed on September 8, 2023, by 24 organizations that endorse and support the 2030 Action Plan for Climate Neutrality of Thessaloniki and the vision of the city towards net zero emissions.Thessaloniki’s pathways towards climate neutrality cover various sectors: