C27 -- Assessing Sustainable Mediterranean Cities and Decarbonization

Cities are hosting over half of the world’s population, consume the majority of its resources and cause a large share of its waste, being both a challenge for global sustainability and a tool for its solution. In the Mediterranean region, two thirds of the population live in urban areas, while by 2050, it is predicted that the urban population will grow to around 170 million in the countries on the northern shore and to over 300 million to the south and east. Thus, the concept and practice of sustainability in urban planning have become increasingly mainstream in policymaking towards a competitive, secure and decarbonized built environment. Various sustainability methodologies and rating systems have been developed including different performance indicators, like the energy use intensity (EUI) and carbon emissions, in order to determine how well the sustainability objectives are achieved. An on-going project aims to capitalize and update an existing multicriteria European environment assessment method for a new sustainable approach to spatial planning and management in Mediterranean cities. The objective is to provide Mediterranean municipalities with a system of innovative tools and methodologies for rating sustainability at building, neighborhood or city scale.