Regenerative and Connective Green Cells to Address Fragmentation and Climate Change in Cities: The TALEA Project Integrated Solution

Cities are facing the combined effects of multiple challenges, e.g., climate change, biodiversity, pollution, and lacking resources. Synergic innovative solutions are required to simultaneously address them while also considering their social impacts. In this context, the TALEA—Green Cells Leading the Green Transition project, funded by the European Urban Initiative, called Greening Cities (EUI02-064)—aims to tackle urban climate challenges in Bologna (Italy) by mitigating Urban Heat Islands (UHI) and Urban Heat Waves (UHW) through an innovative, nature-based, and data-driven approach. TALEA introduces the TALEA Green Cells (TGCs) concept, modular spatial units that integrate nature-based solutions, creative technological innovation, real-time environmental monitoring, and citizen-science-driven data collection within a broader green infrastructure strategy (Bologna Verde project). TGCs bridge the physical and digital dimensions of urban planning: at the macroscale, they contribute to restoring a continuous urban green corridor; at the microscale, they regenerate underused urban spaces, transforming them into climate shelters and hubs for community engagement. A key feature of TALEA is its digital innovation ecosystem, which integrates data from different sources, including remote sensing, sensors, and citizen-generated inputs, within the Systemic Urban Observation Atlas, the Smart Innovation Package and the Digital Twin that the city of Bologna is developing. These tools enable data-driven decision-making, supporting both urban planners and local communities in designing resilient, adaptive, and inclusive urban environments. The scalability and transferability potential of this integrated approach is tested through its real implementation in three Bologna urban pilots.