Urwan Project
Urban regeneration and sustainable water management through
Nature-based solutions
The project URWAN - Urban Regenerative Water Avant-garde(N) is a European initiative co-financed by the Interreg EuroMED, coordinated by ANCI Lazio, which promotes innovative solutions based on nature (Nature-Based Solutions, NbS) for sustainable water management and urban regeneration. URWAN aims to strengthen the resilience of Mediterranean cities to water scarcity and climate change by involving local communities and territorial stakeholders in the co-design of concrete and replicable solutions. In Latium, the pilot area of the Istituto Comprensivo Matteo Ricci in Rome represents an urban laboratory in which to experiment sustainable water management strategies, enhance green spaces and promote the active participation of citizens, fostering more resilient, sustainable and liveable cities. The project involves 9 partners from 7 Mediterranean countries, working closely together to influence decision-making processes and increase the effectiveness of public investments.
Project Objectives
- Improving sustainable urban water management and reducing the impact of extreme weather phenomena.
- Experimenting with Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to regenerate multifunctional and resilient urban spaces.
- Involve local communities, schools and citizens in co-design processes.
- Transferring experiences between European partners to foster replicability of innovative interventions.
- Promoting the inclusion of NBS in local and regional urban planning policies.
Duration and financing
Duration
January 2024 - September 2026
Transfer Phase
July 2026 - December 2027
Programme
Interreg Euro-MED 2021-2027
Lead partner
ANCI Lazio
Partnership composition
Active partners throughout the duration of the project: ANCI Lazio (Italy, lead agency), IRIDRA (Italy), SVIMED (Italy), MedCities (Spain).
New territories receiving the Transfer Phase: RCDC – Regional Council of Durrës (Albania), MUSOL Foundation – Alzira (Spagna), Università di Patrasso – Grecia Occidentale, ENA – Sesimbra, Palmela e Setúbal (Portogallo).
Active partners during the pilot phase (2024-2026): Make it Better (Portogallo), ZRS Bistra Ptuj (Slovenia), Energy & Water Agency (Malta), Città di Sarajevo (Bosnia ed Erzegovina).
Total budget
€2,836,118 (of which €2,268,894 co-financed by Interreg)
The pilot areas of Rome (IT) and Cuba (PT)
One of the distinctive features of the project is the pilot area of Rome, at the Istituto Comprensivo Matteo Ricci. In this context, innovative interventions of sustainable water management and urban regeneration are experimented, directly involving students, teachers and families, transforming the school into a real living laboratory of sustainability.
Specifically, a raingarden will be created to collect rainwater from the roof and paved surfaces; two bioretention areas will also be created and the asphalt surface paving will be replaced with drainage paving, equipped with a water storage tank to serve a school garden.
This experience in Rome not only concretely demonstrates the impact of Nature-based Solutions, but also becomes replicable model for other Italian and Mediterranean cities.
Intervention in the pilot area in Cuba (Portugal) envisages the regeneration of a public space and the surrounding area with the incorporation of a Raingarden solution (rainwater harvesting on the roof of a car park, creation of an artificial wetland for black water treatment with a storage tank for water reuse and an extensive green roof with pergola.
Transfer Phase
URWAN enters the Transfer Phase
Da Luglio 2026 il progetto URWAN è entrato nella sua fase di trasferimento: le soluzioni basate sulla natura (Nature-based Solutions) sperimentate nei siti pilota di Roma e Cuba vengono ora trasferite e adattate a quattro nuovi territori del Mediterraneo: Durrës (Albania), Alzira (Spagna), Patrasso/Grecia Occidentale e l’area di Sesimbra-Palmela-Setúbal (Portogallo), grazie al supporto tecnico di ANCI Lazio, IRIDRA, SVIMED e MedCities. L’obiettivo è replicare l’esperienza pilota, adattando gli interventi di gestione sostenibile dell’acqua urbana ai contesti specifici di ciascun territorio ricevente.
Products and expected results
- Nature-based Solutions Catalogue - URWAN, a practical tool for administrations and technicians (Link).
- Roadmaps and NbS implementation plans developed and tested in the pilot cities of Rome (IT) and Cuba (PT).
- Il progetto ha sviluppato l’URWAN Enabler Pack
un insieme di strumenti pratici per la pianificazione e realizzazione di soluzioni basate sulla natura (Nature-based Solutions) e infrastrutture verdi-blu nelle città mediterranee, disponibile sul sito ufficiale di progetto: urwan.interreg-euro-med.eu/the-urwan-enabler-pack. Il pack comprende:
The URWAN Training Programme, un percorso formativo rivolto ai comuni di medie dimensioni per la pianificazione e realizzazione di NbS urbane, con casi studio reali su siccità e alluvioni;
the NbS URWAN catalog, una panoramica dettagliata di soluzioni innovative e replicabili per la resilienza idrica e la biodiversità urbana;
The Start Park Guidelines, un metodo replicabile per la co-progettazione di infrastrutture verdi-blu con il coinvolgimento delle comunità locali;
The URWAN Checklist, a tool to verify that NbS solutions meet all the key elements of effectiveness, aligned with the IUCN global standard for NbS.
Guarda il video “Soluzioni innovative per l’acqua urbana: il progetto URWAN” (Urwan, canale YouTube ufficiale), che presenta l’intervento pilota di Roma.
Scopri come l’Istituto Matteo Ricci sta trasformando l’acqua piovana in una risorsa: guarda il video dell’inaugurazione
Events and activities
- European and national co-design workshops.
- Workshops and living labs with schools and citizens.
- Dissemination events to promote best practices in the Mediterranean.
Useful links
Official URWAN Project website: https://urwan.interreg-euro-med.eu/
NbS catalogue and project documents: https://urwan.interreg-euro-med.eu/what-we-achieve/