Conexus

Urban Lab is Partner of the European project Conexus – Urban ecosystem renewal in EU and CELAC cities, financed through EU Horizon 2020.
By connecting researchers, policy makers, local communities and developers, the Conexus project is co-creating and evidencing solutions that are inspired and supported by nature. The project is working in seven European and Latin American cities to implement nature based Solutions. These focal cities share common challenges of sustainable urbanisation and are united by their extensive experience, transdisciplinary approach and vision to implement place-based nature-based solutions and nature-based thinking.

Urban Lab is coordinating the Turin Life-Lab that involves micro-scale interventions in Valdocco’s neighborhood through the “Valdocco Vivibile Pilot”. The interventions are designed to have high replicability and multifunctional benefits, both in functional terms and in relation with production of ecosystem services. Innovation in design, materials, vegetation and new mobility patterns are specific elements of the project.

At city scale The Valdocco Life Lab will work in order to spread, share and value the strategies and policies defined in the Climate Resilience Plan and the Green Infrastructure Plan, recently approved by the City of Torino (after a consultation phase). Both documents are at the same time technical and policy addressed plans and constitute the benchmarks aimed at exchange practices and strategies NBS and NBT oriented.

Given the specific role of “test site” conferred by the Public Authority to Valdocco Vivibile, the delivery of the Life Lab acquires a significant role in the implementation of the new environmental policies of the City. The main aim is then to provide the Life Lab a dissemination/public communication strategy, establishing a community of learning that collectively builds and shares information, ideas, experience and expertise linked to the Nature-based Solutions implemented in the neighbourhood. In particular, the schools of Valdocco will be involved in the development of a public communication campaign promoting new awareness and familiarity with climate change mitigation and adaptation actions and sustainability related issues.