First Day

Pilot updates

The first day focused on the deployment and operation of our 29 Visionary Solutions (VS): each Pilot city, together with their Pilot experts, took the floor to showcase the progress made on the ground. The VS of our pilots in Skelleftea (Sweden), Novo Mesto (Slovenia), Dundalk (Ireland), and Chania (Greece) are all operational! 2 VS are still in implementation phase, 1 in Leuven (Belgium) and 1 in Castelfranco Veneto (Italy), with their operation expected soon.

We are happy to report that 27 of our Visionary Solutions are all fully operational, providing direct health and well-being benefits to the users of their pilot sites. 2 Visionary Solutions are in implementation phase.

In the last few months, our Pilot teams have dedicated time and effort to the co-evaluation process and the Social Return on Investment of VARCITIES. Each Pilot has organised workshops with their respective communities of stakeholders to understand the co-benefits of their Visionary Solutions and monitor success against a set of dedicated Key Project Indicators. While the Social Return on Investment analysis is still on-going, we are happy to report that the overall feedback received as part of the co-evaluation process has been very positive across all seven Pilots!

VARCITIES’ partners had the opportunity to directly explore the Pilot site in Castelfranco Veneto, the garden of the Revedin Bolasco. A historic garden preserved in its 19th-century layout, it spans over eight hectares of lush greenery interspersed with water features. It is now equipped with sensors monitoring microclimatic conditions (VS3) and usage (VS4), and an interactive information display, TOTEM (VS6), greets visitors at one of the garden’s entrances. The Pilot team has also developed research on the effect of nature on well-being, behaviour and physiological states in elderly and people with Alzheimer’s disease (VS2), as well as a Local Landscape Observatory (VS4) to promote a new concept urban green spaces centred on health and well-being principles at the local level.

Second Day

On the Second Day, Project partners reconvened to review the work performed in the last 6 months by each Work Package (WP) and discuss the final activities of the project before its end.

Technical University of Crete, VARCITIES’s project coordinator, reviewed the general management of the project (WP2) presented the development of our project’s standardisation effort, with Standardisation Workshops organised jointly with CEN-CENELEC as part of a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA). The CWA focuses on translating portfolio of 20+ Visionary Solutions into actionable guidelines to integrate nature-based, socio-cultural, and digital solutions to improve urban health and well-being.

Prospex Institute presented the preliminary take-aways from the co-evaluation process, and the overall engagement activities in the seven pilots, providing initial reflections on the future of the Pilot sites and their communities of stakeholders. In parallel, together with the University of Bergen, they are finalising research on the governance of the happy and sustainable cities, based on interviews with our seven pilots.

VARCITIES’ GoNature Game is now publicly available, discover it now!

Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) provided updates on the ICT aspects of the projects (WP5). VARCITIES Health and Well-Being Platform continues to act as a conduit between the reality of our pilot sites (monitored through sensors) and their digital twins, providing valuable insights into usage and environmental conditions. DARTTEK was proud to highlight the public release of the GoNature Game, VARCITIES’ own Virtual Reality game, which sees players hunt pollution sources in 3-D renders of the seven pilots’ sites.

E2ARC, who coordinates the co-creation of VARCITIES’ Visionary Solutions across seven Pilots (WP6) presented the overall implementation status, with only two Visionary Solutions still in progress (and 27 in full operation) highlighting risks and contingency measures. They are now focusing on the development of the online Replication Tool, available later this year, supporting cities with a portfolio of good practices to support health and well-being.

University of Malta presented their on-going work monitoring and evaluating the impacts (WP7) of VARCITIES’ interventions in the Pilot sites through a number of KPIs. While their work, supported by the seven Pilots teams, allowed us to concretly measure the improvement brought about by VARCITIES when compared with the initial baseline analysis developed at the onset of the project, in 2020.

INLECOM and Crowdhelix updated partners on VARCITIES’s innovation management and commercialisation strategy (WP8), with an update on the business plans developed for the SMEs present within VARCITES’ consortium and the organisation concluding commercialisation workshops.

Save the date!

Finally, Crowdhelix, the ISOCARP Institute and University of Malta presented on-going communication and dissemination activities (WP9), which is now focusing on the organisation of VARCITIES Final Event, planned for 5^th June 2025, organised in Brussels during the EU Green Week.

External Advisory Board

We were also pleased to welcome two of our External Advisory Board members for insightful discussions. Matthaios Santamouris, Professor at the University of New South Wales, spoke on urban climate change and its far-reaching effects: from energy use and health to vulnerable populations and the economy. He also outlined heat mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat urban heat.  Ezio Micelli, Professor at Iuav University of Venice, discussed the shift in Italy’s territorial structure from a network of “100 cities” to growing metropolitan hubs. He highlighted the need to revitalize small and mid-sized cities through strategies like public real estate renewal, social innovation, co-creation, and investment in mobility and public spaces.

To conclude VARCITIES’ 9th Progress Meeting our Project coordinator, Technical University of Crete, looks forward to the final six months of the project. Project partners will be meeting again physically one last time in July 2025 for the 10^th Progress Meeting in Chania, Greece, where VARCITIES’ story initially started in September 2020!