The GreenInCities project met in Cork in its second consortium meeting
Cork is a city with strong social cohesion and vibrant neighbourhoods, a place where community work thrives. This spirit of collaboration and interaction and the existence of relevant social challenges make it perfectly aligned with the GreenInCities mission, which aims to create a collaborative approach for urban climate regeneration in deprived areas using innovative tools for co-analysis, co-design, and co-monitoring. The project is locally hosted by the University College of Cork and the Cork City Council, and it is a relevant example of fostering inclusive urban regeneration.
In this context, this month the GreenInCities consortium met in Cork for its second in-person project meeting. Through a series of workshops, exchanges and interviews, partners are advancing on the catalogue of solutions and tools to be later applied, and leader cities are defining their KPIs and intervention sites to enhance more inclusive, cohesive and green urban spaces.
This is the second chance that the Consortium has to meet and advance the project in person, after the project’s Kickoff that took place in Barcelona last April. Several activities have been happening, with more than 30 partners interacting and discussing subjects such as the way each city is deploying its inner programme, the coordination and learning opportunities arising from the twinning process (each leader city pairs with several follower cities to exchange good practices and knowledge during the project’s lifespan), as well as the advances in the co-creation process.
After a kind introduction and welcoming of the University of Cork in its Centre for Architectural Education campus, the City Council shared some key insights regarding the local project intervention in the city which is currently focusing on enhancing urban spaces and quality of life through multiple climate action and regeneration strategies. The city’s social profile, as measured by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index, shows a marginally above-average deprivation rate, with notable disparities ranging from disadvantaged areas (Rapid Areas) to affluent zones within the City Centre and suburbs. The City Northwest Quarter, identified as one of the most deprived areas in Cork and Ireland, serves as the pilot site, targeting vulnerable groups like women, children, the elderly, and low-income individuals.
The project also focuses on monitoring conditions and improving the quality of living for other non-human (yet relevant) groups such as birds, bees, and other species of urban wildlife. The future intervention aims to regenerate the built environment, creating multifunctional green areas and promoting circular economy principles to improve air quality and energy efficiency.
Leader cities in the spotlight
The first day was devoted to discussing and further discovering the 5 front cities, sharing updates, and learning from one another's experiences. Some relevant updates are:
Barcelona: The Besòs Balcony project is aimed at revitalising the river mouth, improving wildlife refuge areas, and creating more compatible activities between communities and nature. The project intervention focuses on designing spaces that protect local fauna and flora while engaging public space users facing social and urban challenges.
Prato: The intervention area is situated near the Chinese community settlements, and the deployment of the activity is specially targeted at involving local kindergartens, and primary, and secondary schools. Again by considering the needs of both human and non-human stakeholders like pollinators and small mammals, the pilot aims to foster inclusion and enhance the intervention area usability in the city.
Nova Gorica: The city -which is becoming cultural capital in 2025- has an intervention area focused on re-establishing green connections and addressing contamination. New spaces like the green water theatre and community kitchen will be promoting coexistence between humans and wildlife.
Athens: Tackling risks of flooding and heatwaves, the city aims to restore nature in vulnerable areas and lower urban temperatures. Collaborative learning with twin cities like Helsinki and Barcelona will be crucial for implementing sustainable solutions and protecting local wildlife.
Helsinki: The intervention area at Malmi District addresses segregation and public space deterioration. Monitoring of nature inventories and the application of digital planning tools will be used by the project to increase citizen engagement and support urban renewal.
Three phases to engage communities in the project
After the cities presentations, THINGS put the spotlight on the application of the project’s methodology, which is centred on co-creation and divided into three interconnected phases: Co-Analysis, Co-Design, and Co-Monitoring.
The Co-Analysis phase leverages quantitative tools and participatory methods to understand environmental challenges and stakeholder dynamics. Insights gained will guide the Co-Design and Implementation phase, where community input shapes intervention plans, which are refined using decision support systems and digital twin simulations. Finally, the Co-Monitoring phase will assess the impact of implemented solutions, using digital twin technology to gather feedback and adapt strategies, ensuring sustainable, long-term success and community well-being.
Digital tools for urban development
One of the afternoon workshops focused on leveraging a range of digital tools for urban development, focusing on measurement, analysis, intervention, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Tools like IES’s Intelligent Community Lifecycle use physics simulations to predict environmental impacts, while Kaunas University of Technology’s Digital Twins and Neurolandscape’s simulation tools model physical and mental states. Sensative’s Yggio platform offers a standardised open data solution for environmental metrics, and Faculdade de Ciencias Universidade do Porto’s simulators showcase the aesthetic and functional transformation of urban interventions over time.
In addition, FORTH integrates augmented reality for visualising changes, and all tools are cloud-based for efficient monitoring and assessment. Each participating city was able to identify the tools based on their specific needs and datasets, ensuring solutions would be tailored to their unique challenges.
The session was followed by an activity of mix-matching digital tools that allowed cities to review, discuss, and choose the most suitable options for achieving their goals in sustainable urban planning.
On the other hand, NeuroLandscape organised a workshop dedicated to understanding the cities’ perspective on the Neurourbanism Assessment (NUA): what they hope to achieve, how they want to exploit and why they are interested in applying the NUA. This tool helps to measure mental health in urbanism and how the metrics can be crossed with human-environment relationships.
The last session of the day included a workshop led by Linköping University to advance the next stages of each city’s stakeholder mapping, focusing on the diverse types of participants, their levels of influence and their positioning in terms of inclusion and risk of marginalisation.
A second day analysing KPIs, exploring the intervention area and the GiC Toolbox
During this second day cities and stakeholders came together to co-create a robust Theory of Change (TOC) that ties local challenges, goals, and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) strategies to impactful outcomes in a workshop organised by University College Cork and Multicriteria Group (Mcrit). These were the outcomes:
This exercise highlighted the distinct nature of each city’s environmental, social and cultural issues, which range from urban heat islands to degraded green spaces. By identifying these priorities, cities were able to tailor their NBS strategies to meet both local and global environmental objectives.
A key outcome of this session was the development of a co-production framework, which aims to engage citizens and stakeholders in the implementation and management of Nature-Based Solutions. This inclusive approach ensures that the communities most affected by climate change and pollution are actively involved in creating the solutions. By fostering local engagement, cities aim to increase the resilience and long-term success of NBS projects.
Next, participants focused on creating a results chain that ties strategic objectives to expected outcomes. This process is essential for ensuring that the efforts made on the ground translate into meaningful environmental, social, and economic impacts. The results chain provided a clear pathway from initial interventions, such as planting urban forests or creating wetlands, to broader outcomes like improved air quality, increased biodiversity, and enhanced urban resilience.
Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
With the results chain in place, cities moved on to identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of their interventions. KPIs are critical for monitoring progress, guiding decision-making, and ensuring that the chosen Nature-Based Solutions are delivering the desired outcomes. By establishing clear metrics for success, the consortium is setting the foundation for evidence-based action, helping cities to prioritise interventions and allocate resources effectively.
Through this collaborative process, we're building a shared vision and establishing common ground to address climate challenges, biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change awareness.
The LAND workshop was devoted to reflect on cities current situation. Each city performed a self-assessment canvas, identifying weaknesses in local governance structures, gaps in policy implementation, and the challenges posed by unreliable or incomplete environmental data, to name some aspects. These insights are crucial for understanding the systemic barriers that might hinder the success of Nature-based Solutions. By analysing their current governance landscapes, cities were better equipped to identify tools from the GiC Toolbox that could help address these gaps. The toolbox provides a wide range of solutions, from digital mapping tools to community engagement platforms, all designed to support the effective implementation of NBS integrating the New European Bauhaus pillars at the local level.
Disseminating urban greening for all
Finally, in the communication workshop by Ideas for Change, partners became communication managers and defined newsworthy milestones to be communicated throughout the duration of the project. During the two-day event, a series of audiovisual interviews were conducted with partners for the first GreenInCities video dedicated to an overview of the project, its challenges and the role of leader and follower cities, and for social media channels to explore specific topics.
Wrapping up in Cork: Connecting with local spaces
To conclude the second day, participants took a tour of Cork’s intervention areas in the Churchfield Community Trust Blackpool and the Knocknaheeny Hollyhill community garden run by Niche Health Project. These visits provided valuable insights into the social gathering spaces that prioritise inclusion and engagement by involving the local community in meaningful partnerships to develop actions which improve and sustain health and wellbeing outcomes. Community vegetable gardens are integral to the city’s inclusion and One Health approach, while the Churchfield Community Trust offers employment and inclusion initiatives focused on the most disadvantaged areas and communities ranging from training and mentoring to circular economy activities, referral service or home-delivered meals service for the elderly and vulnerable in the area. Walking through these spaces allowed the consortium members to see firsthand how NBS can enhance urban resilience, improve community well-being, and contribute to environmental restoration.
After workshops, interviews, dancing and lots of ideas for greening and shaping better urban spaces for all, we say goodbye to Ireland with sincere thanks to the Irish hospitality and to the University College Cork and Cork City Council - Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí for their warmest Irish hospitality! go raibh maith agaibh :)
