Horizon Europe Support for GTU Academics’ Project

March 3, 2026 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations
 

Gebze Technical University (GTU) achieves another significant success under Horizon Europe Program, the European Union’s most ambitious research and innovation framework. The project titled “CLIMACARE: Climate-Resilient Adaptive Environments for Urban Health and Social Equity” is selected for funding as an Innovation Action under the HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-04 call. Structured by faculty members from the Department of Economics within GTU’s Faculty of Business Administration, Prof. Halit Yanıkkaya, Asst. Prof. Hande Barlın, Assoc. Prof. Abdullah Altun, and Asst. Prof. Pınar Tat, the project brings together 28 partners from 10 countries with an approximate total budget of €10 million. CLIMACARE directly contributes to the objectives of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

CLIMACARE is designed as a large-scale implementation and dissemination project that aims to develop not only technical, but also socially just and health-oriented solutions to the increasing risks of extreme heat in urban environments. Rising heatwaves pose severe threats to health and quality of life, particularly for older adults, low-income groups, and residents of vulnerable neighborhoods. In this context, the project conceptualizes climate adaptation not merely as an environmental intervention, but as an integrated policy domain encompassing public health, social inequality, and governance dimensions.

The project adopts a holistic and interdisciplinary framework, bringing together expertise and methodologies from social sciences, engineering, architecture, health sciences, and urban planning. This interdisciplinary approach enables CLIMACARE to integrate technical infrastructure solutions with analyses of social vulnerability, ensuring a comprehensive response to climate-related risks.

Within the scope of the project, systemic interventions will be designed and implemented in five demonstration cities: Sultanbeyli (Istanbul), Athens, Pécs, Seville, and Alba Iulia. Public spaces will be redesigned using nature-based solutions, passive cooling strategies will be developed for buildings, and local institutional preparedness for extreme heat risks will be strengthened. Key components of the project include the localization of National Heat–Health Action Plans, the development of emergency standard operating procedures, and the deployment of a “Digital Heat Preparedness Package” to enhance coordination among institutions and individuals. In addition, CLIMACARE aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of its interventions by designing innovative financing mechanisms that allow the integration of developed solutions into municipal budgets beyond the project’s lifetime.

One of the most innovative aspects of CLIMACARE is its emphasis not only on implementation, but also on systematic and scientific evaluation of interventions. Through a controlled experimental design led by the GTU team, the health impacts, behavioral changes, and social justice outcomes of the interventions will be rigorously assessed. This approach will strengthen the often-missing evidence base of local climate adaptation policies. Methodologically, the project is grounded in the assumption that vulnerabilities are not fixed or homogeneous, but rather dynamic, multidimensional, and context-dependent. Accordingly, CLIMACARE places the Capability Approach, the Social Determinants of Health, and multi-level governance at the core of its activities, framing climate adaptation interventions not merely as physical infrastructure improvements, but as structural transformation processes that enhance the capacities of individuals, communities, and institutions.

CLIMACARE will be implemented by a strong and multidisciplinary consortium of 28 partners from 10 countries, including universities, municipalities, private sector entities, and civil society organizations, operating within a multi-level governance model. In the demonstration cities, Multi-Actor Heat Resilience Task Forces will be established to facilitate the co-design, implementation, and policy integration of interventions. Three replication cities, Oppeano, Southampton, and Lower Hutt–Wellington, will adapt successful practices to their own contexts, testing the transferability of solutions across different governance and socio-economic settings.

By promoting climate-resilient urban development while safeguarding public health and advancing social equity, CLIMACARE presents a transformative vision for cities facing the climate crisis. In this respect, the project represents not merely a technical adaptation initiative, but a comprehensive European endeavor aimed at reimagining urban futures through a more equitable, healthier, and resilient framework.

Project Partners:

🇹🇷 Türkiye

· Gebze Technical University (GTU)

· DE Sürdürülebilir Enerji ve İnşaat Sanayi Tic. Ltd.

· Sultanbeyli Municipality

· Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa

· Refugees and Asylum Seekers Assistance and Solidarity Association

🇷🇴 Romania

· Asociatia Institutul pentru Cercetare in Economie (Coordinator)

· Municipality of Alba Iulia

🇮🇹 Italy

· Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi

· Università degli Studi dell’Insubria

· Comune di Oppeano

🇪🇸 Spain

· Universidad de Sevilla

· Ayuntamiento de Sevilla

· Innova Next SL

· Clarke Modet y Compania S.L.

· Bable Smart Cities Iberia S.L.

🇬🇷 Greece

· National Technical University of Athens

· Dimos Athinaion Epicheirisi Michanografisis

· Astiki Mi Kerdoskopiki Etaireia Proliptikis Perivallogias

🇭🇺 Hungary

 · Pecs Megyei Jogu Varos Onkormanyzata

· Pecsi Varosfejlesztesi Nonprofit Zartkoruen Mukodo Rt.

· Nevelok Haza Egyesulet

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

· University of Leeds

· DecarbonCities Ltd

· Southampton City Council

🇳🇿 New Zealand

· Hutt City Council

🇧🇪 Belgium

· European Public Health Alliance

🇩🇪 Germany