News

New publication in “Science of The Total Environment”

3 October 2023

Title: Literature review on the potential of urban waste for the fertilization of urban agriculture: A closer look at the metropolitan area of Barcelona / Urban agriculture (UA) activities are increasing in popularity and importance due to greater food demands and reductions in agricultural land, also advocating for greater local food supply and security as well as the social and community cohesion perspective. This activity also has the potential to enhance the circularity of urban flows, repurposing nutrients from waste sources, increasing their self-sufficiency, reducing nutrient loss into the environment.

New publication in “Atmospheric, Chemistry and Physics”

2 October 2023

Title: Modelling the impacts of emission changes on O3 sensitivity, atmospheric oxidation capacity, and pollution transport over the Catalonia region / Tropospheric ozone (O3) is an important surface pollutant in urban areas, and it has complex formation mechanisms that depend on the atmospheric chemistry and on meteorological factors. The severe reductions observed in anthropogenic emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic can further our understanding of the photochemical mechanisms leading to O3 formation.

Participation at the CILCA conference

7 September 2023

On July 2023, URBAG participated at the X International Conference of Life Cycle Assessment in Latin America (CILCA 2023) with the presentation "Unlocking the potential of municipal solid waste compost for urban and peri-urban agriculture: Nutrient recirculation in metropolitan areas". It was the tenth edition of this conference, which is intended for users of tools based on life cycle thinking at different levels.

Participation at the ISIE conference

5 September 2023

On July 2023, URBAG participated at the International Conference of Industrial Ecology (ISIE) with two presentations. Juan David Arosemena presented his research which aims to determine the capacity and environmental impacts of supplying macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from composting organic municipal solid waste. Gara Villalba presented the A decision approach to evaluate the design and implementation of green infrastructures in urban environments.

New publication in “Climate Dynamics”

26 May 2023

Title: Analysis of synoptic weather patterns of heatwave events / Heatwaves (HWs) are expected to increase both in duration and intensity in the next decades, but little is known about their synoptic and mesoscalar behavior, which is especially important in mid-latitude regions. We propose that a combination of temperature and synoptic patterns is a better way to define and understand HWs because including atmospheric circulation patterns provides information about different HW structures that can irregularly affect the territory.

New publication in “Sustainable Cities and Society”

8 May 2023

Title: The potential of local food, energy, and water production systems on urban rooftops considering consumption patterns and urban morphology / The external resource dependency of urban areas results in the externalization of environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Implementing food, energy and water production systems on urban rooftops (roof mosaics) can potentially help cities become more self-sufficient but depends on the city's urban morphology.

Aprovació del Pla Director Urbanístic Metropolità

3 May 2023

El Consell Metropolità ha aprovat, en sessió extraordinària de data 21 de març de 2023,  els documents del Pla Director Urbanístic Metropolità (PDUM) publicats al BOPB. Aquest nou instrument substitueix l'antic Pla General Metropolità (PGM) aprovat el 1976. La nova normativa potencia molt l’estructura verda, així com altres mesures no vinculades amb el verd. Aquí es on el grup URBAG ha aportat els seus estudis.

Gara Villalba participa com a ponent a la Jornada de Balanç de la Declaració d’Emergència Climàtica

13 April 2023

La Gara Villalba va participar com a ponent el passat 28 de març de 2023 a la Jornada de Balanç de la Declaració d'Emergència Climàtica. El 15 de gener de 2020 Barcelona va declarar l'emergència climàtica. En aquesta declaració es van fixar diverses accions per aplicar abans de 2030. El balanç presenta un 30% de les accions plantejades com a ja finalitzades, mentre que un 66% estan en execució i el 4% restant encara no s'han iniciat.

Impactes de les infraestructures verdes urbanes en la qualitat de l’aire

28 March 2023

S'ha preparat un breu resum de l'estat de l'art i consideracions per l'Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona sobre els impactes de les infraestructures verdes urbanes en la qualitat de l'aire. A continuació, es descriuen alguns dels punts que es tracten en aquest document.

The future of urban agriculture from a social and metabolic perspective

23 March 2023

On the 17th of March 2023, URBAG conducted a workshop session in the second Edible City Network Conference held in Barcelona. The session was focused in presenting a comprehensive vision of the current urban agriculture challenges and opportunities, by considering both social and environmental  perspectives, while employing the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona as case study.

Agricultural perspectives in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona: results from co-creating desired scenarios and the pathways to achieve them

7 March 2023

The agricultural land of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona has been reduced from 20% to 8-9% over the past decades, despite urban gardening being supported by municipal actions. Urban agriculture constitutes a nature-based solution to several societal challenges.

Bojos per la ciència 2023

2 March 2023

URBAG ha participat per tercer any consecutiu en el programa Bojos per la Ciència de la Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera. On conjuntament amb el Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental de la UAB imparteixen el programa Bojos per la Terra.