Horizon Europe: the University of Insubria takes the lead in the European Climacare project for more resilient and healthy cities

Making cities more resilient to climate change, safeguarding people’s health and reducing social inequalities. This is the objective of the latest climate-focused call for proposals under Horizon Europe, the European Union’s most ambitious research and innovation programme, won by the project ‘Climacare: climate-resilient adaptive environments for urban health and social equity’, which officially launched on 1 May. Among the 28 partners involved, from ten countries, is the University of Insubria, with  lecturers from the Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences: Elena Cristina Rada (principal investigator), Vincenzo Torretta and Fabio Conti.

With a total budget of around €10 million and a duration of four years, the project will be carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium comprising universities, local authorities, private sector bodies and civil society organisations, operating within a multi-level governance model.

At the heart of the work lies one of the most significant emergencies of our time: heatwaves, which in Europe are already the leading cause of climate-related mortality, with particularly severe effects on the elderly, children and vulnerable people.

‘Climacare’ is conceived as a large-scale implementation and dissemination project that aims to develop solutions that are not only technical, but also socially equitable and health-oriented. Climate adaptation is addressed not simply as an environmental intervention, but as an integrated policy area encompassing public health, social inequality and governance. The project brings together expertise from the social sciences, engineering, architecture, health sciences and urban planning.

By promoting urban development resilient to climate change, safeguarding public health and fostering social equity, ‘Climacare’ offers a transformative vision for cities grappling with the climate crisis. This is not merely a technical adaptation initiative, but a European commitment aimed at rethinking the urban future in a more equitable, healthy and resilient way.

(In the photograph, from left: Vincenzo Torretta, Elena Cristina Rada and Fabio Conti)