AQuatic Urban ecosystems Alive

Our vision


Cities are facing growing challenges from climate change—like floods and droughts—as well as from urbanization, such as heat, air pollution, and water pollution. These pressures affect both people’s quality of life and urban biodiversity.

To address this, cities are exploring nature-based solutions, which use natural processes to solve multiple problems at once. One example is floodable parks—green spaces that can temporarily store rainwater during heavy storms while still serving as recreational areas. These parks help reduce flood risks, cool cities, and support wildlife, making them valuable for both people and the environment.

However, floodable parks are still relatively new, and more research is needed to understand their full potential. This project will study such parks at different stages of development in six European cities. It will focus on their environmental and social benefits, especially biodiversity, and involve both experts and citizens to ensure practical and lasting impact.


Funding organisations


This research project will take place for 3 years (starting from January 2026 and ending on December 2028) following the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership’s transnational call (2024), a European Partnership under the R&I framework programme Horizon Europe.  See more information in the DUT AQUAlive project description.

AQUAlive focuses on the following Circular Urban Economies Transition Pathways:

  • Creating a new paradigm for urban water cycles​
  • Circular models for regenerating, repurposing, protecting and conserving urban space for biodiversity

The funding organisations for each partner are:

Institution/organization/municipality
Country
Funding organisation
University of Antwerp (UA)
Belgium
FWO
University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACG)
Bulgaria
BNSF
Università di Firenze (UNIFI)
Italy
MUR-FIRST
FCiencias (Ulisboa)
Portugal
FCT
Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IRMiR)
Poland
NCBR
Uniwersytet Lodzki (UNI.LODZ)
Poland
NCBR
Istanbul Technical University (ITU)
Turkey
TUBITAK
Sampas (SAM)
Turkey
TUBITAK
Antalya Municipality (ANT)
Turkey
TUBITAK

Contact

Tel.
0034 664494614
Faculty of Sciences - Department of Biology Campus Drie Eiken
Universiteistplein 247
2610 Antwerpen , Belgium