SCAS News - 12 October, 2023
SCAS Hosts Early-Career Scholars of the CAT Programme
This week, SCAS is hosting a group of early-career scholars within the Constructive Advanced Thinking
(CAT) programme of NetIAS. With their research project Socio-ecological Reshaping of European Cities
and Metropolitan Areas, three of the five members of the group are gathering at the Collegium for five days
of focussed work. On site in Uppsala for the meeting are Principal Investigator Maria Manso (Professor of
Civil Engineering, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal), Manuel Beißler (Researcher in Digital Environ-
mental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany) and Andrea Nóblega Carriquiry (PhD Candidate
in Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain). In addition, the group also includes Joana Guerrin
(Researcher in Political Sciences, INRAE, France) and Rieke Hansen (Professor of Open Space and Ecol-
ogical Urban Design, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Germany).
The project that Manso and her team are working on is described as follows:
“Societies in European cities are faced with environmental problems related to air and water quality, bio-
diversity loss, and advancing climate change. At the same time cities need to tackle socio-economic issues
such as social cohesion and justice or the transition to sustainable mobility systems. All these challenges place
complex demands on the design, use and functionality of urban space and infrastructures. Nature-based
Solutions (NbS) are expected to play a major role in solving these issues through a redefinition and amplification
of their multi-functionality in urban areas, i.e. the potential of vegetation to cool urban areas. Our Constructive
Advanced Thinking network “reshape cities” combines knowledge from civil engineering, geography, architec-
ture, landscape architecture and social sciences that needs to be combined for such complex challenges. Based
on case studies at different spatial scales, we will cross current knowledge frontiers regarding key issues of
upscaling and mainstreaming of NbS and develop innovative ideas for improved multi-functionality, integral
cost-benefit sharing and diverse stakeholder engagement based on technical knowledge, policy knowledge and
transformative knowledge. The integration of these knowledge dimensions across case studies and spatial will
be conceptually addressed and result in policy recommendations regarding the upscaling and mainstreaming of
NbS in European cities.”
The CAT programme entails visits to several institutes for advanced study within the NetIAS group. The other
institutes that the group has visited during their time in the programme are the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge
Institute on Transitions; Scienza Nuova, Torino; Institut d'études avancées de Paris; and Institute for Advanced
Study at Central European University, Budapest. The next and final visit will be to the Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung, Bielefeld.
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SCAS is one of twelve participating institutes of the CAT initiative, which was developed within the
framework of the Network of European Institutes for Advanced Studies (NETIAS), and launched in
2019. The programme aims at supporting small groups of excellent early-career researchers conducting
fundamental research dedicated to developing new ideas to understand and to tackle current or emerging
societal challenges. The selected groups work on their project for a duration of up to three years and
during this time they are invited to meet for short stays at some of the participating institutes, where
they also get the opportunity to get in contact with the Fellows in residence at the institutes as well as
local research communities.
Read more about the CAT programme >>
Read more about the Network of European Institutes for Advanced Studies (NETIAS) >>
