What we do
COOL NOONS is a cooperation project that aims to help Mediterranean cities to re-think their tourism and leisure offer in order to improve the comfort of visitors during the hottest hours of the day. Through the implementation of technological and nature-based solutions, co-designed with citizens, Cool Noons aims at improving the resilience and quality of life of Mediterranean cities affected by the consequences of climate change, especially heatwaves.
COOL PATHS
Mapping cool routes in Budva, Dubrovnik, Imola, Marseille and Lisbon
The Cool Paths wish to be a new way to explore and live the Mediterranean cities – that are facing climate changes and increasing heat waves – with the main goal of offering a renovated approach to urban tourism and enhancing urban resilience.
Mapping the cities
As a crucial phase of Cool Noons, the five pilot cities – Budva, Dubrovnik, Imola, Marseille and Lisbon – identified one or more paths, chosen according to tourist interest and best thermal comfort.
The mapping started off with green areas and spots that are considered cooler. Then, proceeded to identifying pre existent paths or mapped new itineraries in the cities, in order to attract visitors to less-explored areas merging the needs of visitors and locals, with great attention to creating a better living experience for the residents, who would benefit from the solutions that will be implemented during the following phases of Cool Noons.
The Cool Noons Paths share a common methodology (based on Least-Cost method, Optimal Regional Connectivity, as well as more important data such as heat-related metrics, Copernicus Climate Services, tourist origins, refreshing buildings etc). But Cool Noons pilots had the possibility of making autonomous decisions in the customisation of the methodology, with the goal to match and create connections with key tourist points and planning the eco-cultural Cool Noons itineraries.
Participative process
The Cool Noons project operates using an innovative methodology integrating participative and evaluative processes.
Workshops were completed during Autumn 2024. A key success factor for the Cool Noons project is facilitating participatory workshops, which were essential for pilot cities.
These cities benefited from a design thinking workshop during the kick-off meeting to expand their toolkit for a co-design approach. In the participatory workshops (around 3 per pilot city), a large target audience was invited, including local authorities, environmental NGOs, trade representatives, universities, cultural centers…
During Autumn 2024, participatory workshops occurred for most pilot sites with tailor-made methodologies.
- in Imola and Marseille, participatory urban walks on the paths were organized with students, citizens and NGOs.
- in Lisbon, the project managers used mixed tools, including participative walks and Lego models to represent selected solutions
- in Dubrovnik, one goal of the participative workshops ware to co-design of the Cool Noons paths. 7 roads were defined.
By co-conceiving solutions with a large representative panel of population, including socio-economic-psychological abilities, feasibility and impact are high to find both more innovative and more inclusive solutions, taking into account the variety of public spaces’ uses. This combined with Universal Design principles will lead to more wellness, feeling of appropriation and togetherness.
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