11 March 2025

Climate Challenges in Urban Design

The Cities in Times of Drought or Abundance project, funded by Unite! Seed Fund and led by UPC, aims to create a joint academic course exploring architectural and urban solutions to mitigate climate impacts.

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech (UPC), in collaboration with Aalto University and the University of Lisbon, has launched the "Cities in Times of Drought or Abundance" project. Funded by the Unite! Seed Fund, this initiative seeks to address the growing challenges of climate change on cities by developing innovative architectural, urban, and landscape solutions. The project will create a collaborative course that engages students in tackling design challenges related to climate extremes such as floods, droughts, and severe weather patterns.

Research Focus

The project focuses on how cities can adapt to the dual threats of drought and flooding, leveraging case studies from Barcelona, Lisbon, and Helsinki. Each of these cities has recently faced extreme weather events, highlighting the urgency of developing sustainable design solutions. The proposed course will engage bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD students in the study of these climate impacts, offering them practical design tools to assess risks and create adaptive strategies. The course will be a joint effort between the three universities, aimed at preparing future designers to address global climate challenges with localized, nature-based solutions.

The project aims to develop a joint short-term academic course, such as a summer or winter school, focused on architecture, urbanism, and landscape design in response to climate change. It will compile a repository of case studies from each participating city, examining both historical and contemporary architectural and urban solutions to mitigate climate impacts. Students will be actively involved in designing the course, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to addressing climate-related challenges. The project also seeks to promote gender balance and diversity among students and faculty, while establishing the foundation for a long-term academic collaboration between the three institutions, with the course set to launch in the 2025-26 academic year.

"The Unite! Seed Fund is a necessary initiative that fosters collaboration between European universities by supporting the creation of joint academic curricula. The team's diverse backgrounds guarantee an outcome which blends a variety of cultural, physical and technical experiences. Consequently, the students participating in the forthcoming intensive courses will be equipped with critical skills necessary to design localised solutions to global challenges."

Collaboration and Expertise

The project builds on existing relationships between the UPC, Aalto University, and the University of Lisbon. These schools have a strong history of student exchanges and faculty mobility, and this new initiative aims to deepen collaboration by developing a joint academic course. The course will consist of three editions, each hosted by one of the participating cities—Barcelona, Lisbon, and Helsinki—allowing students to explore the unique climate challenges faced by each location.
The course will prioritize the involvement of students in its design, with each university appointing three faculty members and three students to collaborate on developing the syllabus, preparing case studies, and participating in learning trips. This approach ensures that the course reflects real-world experiences and prepares students to respond to climate impacts in both urban and natural environments.

Through this collaborative effort, the Cities in Times of Drought or Abundance project will create a foundation for future climate-resilient urban design, equipping students with the skills and knowledge to build more sustainable and adaptable cities.