Bulgaria

UACG is the oldest and the most highly ranked university and research institution in the field of architecture, civil engineering and urban planning in Bulgaria. UACG has experience in a number of national and international research projects related to the topic of the proposal: “The OBSERVE project - Strengthening and development of Earth Observation activities for the environment in the Balkan area " 2010-2012; "Clean technologies for a sustainable environment - water, waste, energy for a circular economy" 2018-2023; "Using space imagery to assess the ecological status of soils" 2008-2010. The department of Urban planning which will lead the Bulgarian/UACG team in the AQUAlive project is specialized in the field of spatial planning as well as on urban and landscape planning and development research. It is also a trusted partner to the municipalities of Sofia and other cities, supporting decision-making with research and providing knowledge and research. The department has experience in research and education in the fields of urban development and urban management, integrated planning, sustainable urban development, housing, nature-based solutions, participatory planning, urban health etc. Completed projects related to the AQUAlive include HURBE (Healthy Urban Environment: Developing Higher Education in Architecture and Construction in Bosnia and Herzegovina, № 598503) 2019-2021,  URBiNAT (Urban Innovative and Inclusive Nature project, contract 776783) 2018-2024, 15minESTATES (Co-creating Spatial Strategies for Just and Sustainable Mobility in Large-Scale Housing Estates) 2024-2027, PETUS (Practical Evaluation Tools for Urban Sustainability), 2002-2005. UACG will lead WP1; provide data for WP2 and WP4; realise the needed samplings for WP3; organize workshops with the tools developed by WP5 leaders and participate in the WP6 KH AQUAlive council. 

The team PI Veneta Zlatinova-Pavlova is a researcher focused on urban morphology, housing, circular built environment, regenerative urban neighbourhoods, quality of the urban environment, as well as participatory and inclusive urban planning. She has been a member of the Sofia municipality team implementing URBiNAT project (providing scientific, research and innovation support on the elaboration of the Urban plan for the Green heathy corridor in Sofia, on the participatory implementation of NbS, and on the urban concept for the project implementations in Sofia). Her experience in participatory and inclusive planning has been strengthened through her participation in SCALE IT UP project, 2021-2022 (Scaling up a sustainable model for communities living in non-regulated areas to improve their living conditions). She is also an Innovative action expert, supporting RELAUNCHTOWIN project.

Milena Tasheva-Petrova is an experienced researcher with prominent publications in the fields of integrated and participatory planning, strategic planning, housing, urban health, spatial planning, urban regeneration and urban renewal, flood risk management, energy transformation and professional education in the field of urban planning. She has been the principal researcher of the Bulgarian team within the URBiNAT project (leading the research activities in the project implementation), a lead researcher in the HURBE project and in a number of nationally funded projects, among which “Flood risk management in settlements after dams”, “Adapting the placemaking approach to the renovation of public spaces in Bulgarian cities”, as well as a mentor in international education initiatives like the students’ practice “Vienna: River works and flood risk management into the big city”, the e-learning Course “Landscape Assessment“ and Healthy Home Summer School: Human and Nature-Based Solutions for Inclusive and Innovative Urban Regeneration”.

Angel Burov is doing research in the fields of urban health, urban microclimate, application of GIS, urban environment modelling, etc. His research activities include international projects like URBiNAT, ECHOES (Energy CHOices supporting the Energy union and the Set-plan, funded by Horizon2020), national projects among which “Information platform for environmental research and modeling”, “Effectiveness of strategic spatial planning tools at local level: an evaluation system” and “Effectiveness of strategic spatial planning tools at local level: an evaluation system”.