Seville will host the closing of the European project URBANEW EMC³ on September 15 and 16 at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of the University of Seville. The event, titled "Beyond 2030: Cities Leading Energy Regeneration within their Climate Agreements," will gather representatives from seven Spanish Mission Cities: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, and Zaragoza.
The Seville City Council and the University of Seville will lead the presentation of results, focusing on linking residential rehabilitation with decarbonization, climate adaptation, housing, and social cohesion objectives. Seville's participation in URBANEW EMC³ has enabled the development of tools to apply climate neutrality goals at the neighborhood level, especially in vulnerable urban areas.
One of the main outcomes is a protocol for the energy regeneration of vulnerable neighborhoods, developed from the experience of the San Pablo Polygon and designed to be extrapolated to other Spanish and European neighborhoods. During the meeting, the comprehensive regeneration project for Los Pajaritos-Nazaret will be presented, combining the energy and structural improvement of 144 public housing units with public space transformation, including the redevelopment of Plaza Terreras and environmental renaturalization.
According to the delegate for Urbanism, Juan de la Rosa, the project lays the groundwork for integral urban rehabilitation public policies, viewing rehabilitation as a right to healthy, accessible housing and environments. The municipal commitment aims to make energy rehabilitation a tool for urban policy, addressing building quality, energy consumption, family vulnerability, and neighborhood adaptation to climate change.
The event will analyze how to translate learnings into long-term urban policies, integrating efficiency, decarbonization, architectural quality, accessibility, health, climate adaptation, and social cohesion. Challenges for Climate Agreements beyond 2030 will be addressed through presentations, debate panels, and city experiences.
The inauguration will feature Juan de la Rosa, delegate for Urbanism of the Seville City Council; Ramón Pico Valimaña, director of the Higher Technical School of Architecture of the University of Seville; and Borja Rodríguez Ramajo, councilor of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council. The closing will be led by Fernando Mañes Izquierdo, delegate for European Funding of the Seville City Council.
Also participating will be Fernando Vázquez Marín, Urban Planning Manager of the Seville City Council; Maite Verdú, Director General of Urban Agenda at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda; Juan Carlos Abascal Candás, Deputy Minister of Territorial Planning of the Basque Government; and Marta Méndez Díaz, national coordinator of the Secretariat of the UN Local2030 Coalition.
The collaboration between the City Council and the University of Seville is a strategic axis. During the second day, "The Climate (Sub)Mission at the University of Seville: Towards Sustainable and Climate-Neutral Campuses" will be presented by rector Carmen Vargas Macías. Governance of complex processes will also be discussed with Pilar Mercader Moyano and Mari Ángeles López Amado.
Seville is among the one hundred European cities selected by the European Commission for the Smart and Climate-Neutral Cities Mission. The URBANEW EMC³ project, coordinated by Vitoria-Gasteiz, follows up on the pilot project URBANEW and aims to develop energy rehabilitation solutions reproducible in other urban contexts.
