VARCITIES
The project seeks to establish sustainable models for increasing the health and wellbeing of citizens (children, young people, middle age, elderly) that are exposed to diverse climatic conditions and challenges around Europe.
Main content
In an increasingly urbanising world, governments and international corporations strive to increase productivity of cities, recognized as economy growth hubs, as well as ensuring better quality of life and living conditions to citizens. Although significant effort is performed by international organisations, researchers, etc. to transform the challenges of cities into opportunities, the visions of our urban future are trending towards bleak. The increase in urban population is already intensifying the pressure on urban services and facilities, as well as on nature and ecosystems, significantly affecting the liveability of contemporary cities. Air pollution and heat island effect are just two of the most evident impacts of the climate crisis we have started to live. These impacts will more and more negatively affect social and health facilities, whose responsiveness and efficiency is more than ever crucial in time of pandemic crisis like in 2020. The vision of VARCITIES is to implement real, visionary ideas and add value by establishing sustainable models for increasing health and wellbeing of citizens (children, young people, middle age, elderly) that are exposed to diverse climatic conditions and challenges around Europe. The ambitious foundation of VARCITIES lies in the close interrelation of sustainability, public health and digital innovation in order to make cities more liveable and welcoming; shared public spaces are pointed out are the privileged areas where to explore this integration, and ultimately to foster the evolution towards fully “human-centred cities”.
