Update | MARCH 2025
Welcome to our first News Update of 2025! We sincerely hope that the new year has started well for all of you, as it has for the Institute. In recent weeks we have been successful in acquiring two new projects related to green spaces and soils in cities. We are excited about these new challenges! As usual, the Institute is striving for Urban Excellence, and we are therefore looking to engage more with the urban community: we will soon be opening a new chapter of the Institute on our website, in the spirit of urban inclusiveness. Stay tuned!
INSTITUTE RESEARCH
Soil is the foundation of human settlements —yet it’s very often overlooked in planning. From filtering water to storing carbon and supporting biodiversity, healthy soil offers essential ecosystem services, making it vital for sustainable urban development. As a core partner of the SPADES project, the Institute is actively working to make soil integration in planning a reality! We recently participated in a series of workshops in Frankfurt, where our project managers presented on one hand research on planning and design concepts that streamline soil integration, and on the other hand, a collection of case studies that will contribute to the uptake of good practices.
Our research activities have also led us to contribute to VARCITIES' latest Policy Brief on Digital Twins for Greener, Healthier Cities. In collaboration with IES Ltd, the team developed this key document to explore how digital twins can help municipalities advance sustainable urban planning, drawing from the project's experience with its own digital twin tool —the Health & Well-Being Platform. Explore this resource to discover concrete measures cities can take to implement digital twin technologies and create greener, healthier urban environments.
Promoting sustainable and healthy environments also means decarbonising cities. In that sense, as part of the timely REGEN project, we are advancing urban regeneration at the neighbourhood scale by supporting the development of a toolbox that integrates digital technologies with sustainability assessments. We are also working toward urban decarbonisation through JUSTNature, where we support partner cities in cross-learning activities to scale up Nature-based Solutions. With the project's 7th Progress Meeting approaching, we look forward to further driving collaborative efforts toward low-carbon cities!
institute PRACTICE
Our team was in the Slovenian region of Gorenjska in February 2025, for the 4th Study Visit of the Down to Earth project. On top of our on-going communication and dissemination activities, we were proud to present a factsheet based on the project's recently published Joint Thematic Report on All-Type of Access Barriers to Young Farmers in Depopulated Rural Areas. Introduced during the project's Second Thematic Conference, the factsheet and report are a result of the Consortium's second year of research, which concluded at the end of the month. We now enter Down to Earth's third year, looking forward to the work ahead!
KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY
The Institute's knowledge library keeps expanding, with articles that foster cross-learning, facilitate knowledge sharing and, above all, create a space for reflection and open conversations on today's most pressing planning and development topics. Here's a sneak peek at our latest publications!
Exploring the Forms of City-to-City Exchange: Cities are at the forefront of addressing climate change, resilience, and sustainable development. But how can they learn from one another to accelerate progress? In this article, Yoann Clouet and Marco Kjær explore City-to-City Exchange —a transformative process that helps cities share knowledge, adopt best practices, and co-create solutions to urban challenges. Dive into this piece to gain insights into a new analytical framework for understanding different forms of city exchange!
Empowering Quito’s local stakeholders for Disaster Risk Reduction by applying the concept of Nature-based Solutions to the Quebradas: This case study, written by Tannya Pico and Alexander Jachnow, delves into Quito's quebradas —once natural buffers against floods— which are now at risk due to urban sprawl, deforestation and climate change. How can Nature-based Solutions and community efforts restore these ecosystems? What can cities worldwide learn from this Disaster Risk Reduction story? Read and find out!
UPCOMING EVENTS
What does it take to shape future-ready land-use policies in Europe? Land-use changes pose major challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss and food security. Tackling them requires transformative strategies that balance stakeholder interests, resolve conflicts, and create synergies for social and ecological benefits. The Second Science-EU Policy Dialogue, a collaboration between the PLUS Change project, Europe-LAND & MOSAIC, will dive into these topics on April 29th, bringing together EU research projects and policy officers to exchange insights and collaborate on the future of European land management. Join us online to be part of the conversation! Register here.
Planning to attend the EU Green Week in June? Interested in green and healthy cities? Then meet us in Brussels for VARCITIES Final Event! The project will be presenting its nature, social and digital-based portfolio of solutions, and their replication potential. We are excited to organise this event where VARCITIES standards for greener, healthier cities will be shared. Join us on June 5th! Registrations are open via this link.
connect with the institute
Are you interested in receiving direct opportunities from us? Subscribe to our Urban Expert Database! We are always open to developing new partnerships and collaborations, reach out to us if you are interested to work together on capacity building, research exploration, public outreach and technical assistance both in and outside of Europe. Send us an email: info@isocarp-institute.org or connect on social media!