UPC-Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Climate and natural risk resilient cities. Nature state of mind

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record. In the same way, the past ten years have all been in the Top Ten. Nevertheless, 2024 is the first year to exceed 1,5°C above pre-industrial level. A threshold that seemed to be still far away is now a reality. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, the human-caused rise in greenhouse gases has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. More frequent and more intense weather events, such as severe heatwaves, and heavy precipitation lead to increased impacts on more vulnerable populations. This is why a paradigm shift in the urbanization model is essential.

In this sense, the seminar proposes to analyze the challenges cities face with climate change, assessing the increase in extreme events, both those related to high temperatures, such as heat waves or the increase in summer days, and those associated with the water cycle, such as torrential rains, flash floods, or the increasingly longer and more frequent periods of drought experienced in recent years on the Iberian Peninsula. All of this is done with the objective of proposing solutions that make our cities resilient spaces and thus ensure people’s health and quality of life through nature-based solutions. In this way, the rewilding of cities is presented as a key element for climate resilience. The seminar will discuss various examples of these possible solutions at the territorial and urban levels.

Josep Roca Cladera Emeritus Professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Director of the Centre for Land Policy and Valuation of the UPB (1986-2022). Head of the Doctoral Programme in Urban Management and Valuation at the UPC (1988-2022). Director of various masters and postgraduate, academic and professional programmes. City of Barcelona Research Award (1986). Director of nearly 50 doctoral theses and 200 final master’s degree projects. Responsible for several national, European and international research projects.

José Sergio Palencia Jiménez is a Civil Engineer and holds a PhD in Urban Planning, Territory and Sustainability from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Permanent Lecturer at the UPV and researcher in the Department of Urban Planning at the UPV. Director of the University Master’s Degree in Transport, Territory and Urban Planning at the UPV. Secretary of the Asociación Interprofesional de Ordenación del Territorio (FUNDICOT). His main research has focused on the management of natural risks, highlighting the risk of flooding among others, from the perspective of spatial planning and climate change. He has contributed to the field of research with 31 different publications in national and international conferences, 10 articles in indexed journals and three book chapters. His most outstanding work in the field of risk has been his contribution to the sectoral Territorial Action Plan on Flood Risk Prevention in the Valencian Community (PATRICOVA). He has participated as a speaker or lecturer in different courses, master’s degrees and conferences, as well as collaborating in two European projects on flood risks: Smart Resilience Technology, Systems and Tools (SMARTeST) and European Project E2TORMED.

Sandra García, a graduate in Environmental Sciences, with a Master’s degree in Urban Environment and Sustainability, has more than 15 years of experience in Urban Planning. She is currently Director of Naturaleza y Ecosistema Urbano en Anthesis. She leads projects focused on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local and regional government level. Her work focuses on developing urban strategies aimed at achieving climate neutrality, from a holistic vision of urban planning that integrates the environmental perspective and just transition, putting citizenship and the participation of the different actors of the urban ecosystem at the centre. These projects address various aspects of urban ecosystems, including mobility, air quality, biodiversity and climate change. At the same time, he coordinates a team specialised in nature-related projects: green infrastructure, regional connectivity, biodiversity inventories and the construction of Nature Positive frameworks for companies.

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