Development of a Support System for Improved Resilience and Sustainable Urban areas to cope with Climate Change and Extreme Events based on GEOSS and Advanced Modelling Tools

Project Information

HARMONIA

Grant agreement ID: 101003517

DOI

10.3030/101003517

Project closed

EC signature date 18 May 2021

Start date 1 June 2021

End date 31 January 2025

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 4 999 803,61

EU contribution

€ 4 999 794,00

Coordinated by

POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - HARMONIA (Development of a Support System for Improved Resilience and Sustainable Urban areas to cope with Climate Change and Extreme Events based on GEOSS and Advanced Modelling Tools)

Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2025-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

As of now, more than 70% of Europe’s population lives in urban areas, which are increasingly experiencing the effects of climate change. From air pollution to urban heat islands, flash floods, and sinkholes, climate change in cities takes many forms that threaten human lives and livelihoods. In response to these challenges, the HARMONIA project aimed to provide cities and decision-makers with an innovative system for understanding urban risks and evaluating resilience strategies. Considering the current lack of a dedicated process for understanding and quantifying the effects of climate change on urban areas, HARMONIA has developed an Integrated Resilience Assessment Platform (IRAP) and three Decision Support Systems (DSSs) to assist cities in their adaptation and transformation processes. These systems have been developed in alignment with the guidelines of GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) with the goal of integrating IRAP into the services of the GEOSS Platform Plus.
The development of an integrated platform for urban risk assessment and decision-making support systems aligns with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Agenda, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The project leverages existing tools, services, and new technologies to deliver an integrated resilience assessment platform operating on GEOSS. It utilizes satellite data and auxiliary information available on platforms such as GEOSS, DIAS, Urban TEP, and GEP, as well as governmental and local authorities' data portals.
Aiming to integrate and optimize existing knowledge and tools, HARMONIA has developed a modular and scalable knowledge base built on multi-layer data for observing urban areas. This includes time series of satellite data, spatial information, auxiliary data, and in-situ observation systems, integrating detailed information at the neighborhood/building level.
HARMONIA focuses on two main pillars:
• Natural and anthropogenic risks intensified by climate change: urban flooding, land degradation, and geo-risks (landslides, ground deformation).
• Anthropogenic risks: urban heat islands, urban heat fluxes, and air quality.
The work conducted by the HARMONIA project aims to contribute to the goal of Sustainable Urban Development, one of the key areas of societal benefit outlined by the EU. To this end, HARMONIA promotes the use of Earth Observation as a crucial tool for urban resilience, advancing equity, well-being, and shared prosperity for all. The project also supports the development of new indicators to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within a European context
By leveraging satellite and auxiliary data from the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and other services, HARMONIA successfully integrated multi-disciplinary knowledge and assessments. The project effectively addressed climate-related hazards and developed intervention necessity indices, guiding evidence-based decision-making for urban resilience.
With its innovative approach, HARMONIA has set a benchmark for urban climate resilience, equipping cities with the tools and insights necessary to mitigate risks and adapt to a rapidly changing climate.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Over the four years of the HARMONIA project, the consortium successfully fostered a diverse and engaged community centered around its pilot cities, GEO, EuroGEO, and urban resilience initiatives. Through collaboration with local governments, urban planners, policymakers, emergency responders, environmental agencies, research institutions, industry partners, and citizen groups, Harmonia strengthened knowledge-sharing networks and promoted data-driven climate adaptation. Beyond its pilot cities, the project also actively engaged external municipalities, extending its impact and promoting best practices in urban resilience across Europe.
HARMONIA also managed to engage citizens through a Citizens as Observers approach. This initiative empowered residents to contribute valuable, real-time environmental data, enriching the project’s datasets and strengthening the Decision Support System (DSS). By integrating citizen-driven observations with advanced Earth Observation (EO) data, the project not only enhanced public awareness but also ensured that local knowledge played a role in shaping urban climate adaptation strategies. The consortium designed, developed, tested, and validated the Integrated Resilience Assessment Platform (IRAP) and its Decision Support System in direct collaboration with the pilot cities—Piraeus, Ixelles, Milan, and Sofia. Through continuous engagement with key stakeholders, including local governments, urban planners, and emergency responders, the project identified specific needs, critical variables, and essential features required for effective climate resilience planning. This co-creation process ensured that the platform was tailored to real-world urban challenges, providing actionable insights for data-driven decision-making.
Following extensive testing and validation, HARMONIA successfully delivered a fully operational and field-tested platform, equipping cities with the tools to assess risks, monitor climate change impacts, and evaluate the effectiveness of their mitigation and adaptation measures. By integrating satellite data, in-situ observations, and citizen contributions, HARMONIA has pioneered a holistic approach to urban resilience, setting a model for future climate adaptation initiatives across Europe and beyond.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

HARMONIA leverages a wealth of existing Earth Observation Datasets and services ‒ including GEOSS, Copernicus and ESA data and services which have been capitalized with ensemble modelling of socio-economic and in-situ data to deliver a platform, the IRAP, allowing stakeholders to model a range of planning options against a number of CC scenarios. The IRAP addresses multi-hazard risk factors and help streamline the process of preparing for, and responding to, CC-related hazards.
HARMONIA greately contributed to filling the gap with the dedicated services to the urban environment, citizens’ wellbeing and health, and disaster resilience and to support Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement as well as the other GEO engagement priorities such as the Agenda for Sustainable Development in a scalable, AI/ML/DL-enabled Integrated Resilient Assessment Platform dedicated to cities.
This will support local decision making and foster a wide range of applications dedicated to climate adaptation and mitigation, generating important long-term socio-economic benefits and contributing to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and Sendai framework. Sustainable reconstruction of urban areas and the health of humans and ecosystems are top priorities. Harmonia will take into account the local ecosystems of European urban areas, following an integrated and sustainable approach by incorporating the active communities’ participation initiative, which will involve the use of a social platform. Paying extra attention to Sustainable Urban Development, one of the Societal Benefit Areas posits that use of EO is a crucial tool towards resilient cities and the assessment of urban footprints, to promote equity, welfare and shared prosperity for all, feed new indicators for the monitoring of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in an EU context.

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HARMONIA project leaflet is a quick and effective dissemination tool.