On 10 February 2026 in Katowice, Poland, the UPSURGE consortium will host its Final Conference, Guiding Cities to Deliver Regenerative Urban Transformation, showcasing the innovations, tools, best practices, and lessons learned developed throughout the project to accelerate regenerative urban transformation across European cities.
Organised as hybrid, the event will bring together policymakers, urban practitioners, researchers, and city leaders to reflect on UPSURGE’s results and discuss how they can support the next generation of nature-based, climate-positive and socially-relevant urban solutions.
What to Expect
During the conference, UPSURGE partners and invited experts will present:
- Innovative approaches to Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) tested in the five UPSURGE demo cities: Belfast, Breda, Budapest, Katowice, and Maribor.
- Best practices for co-creation, community engagement, and multi-level governance.
- Digital tools, decision-support systems, and analytics for planning and monitoring the effectiveness of NBS interventions.
- Scalable models for regenerative urban planning that can be applied across Europe.
- Policy-relevant insights on enabling frameworks and standards for nature-positive city transitions.
The event will also serve to launch the UrbanByNature Platform, a new hub providing advisory and training services to help cities mainstream Nature-Based Solutions into local policies and practices.
Who Should Attend – and Why
This event is designed for:
- City officials and urban planners seeking practical tools and proven approaches to implementing NBS at scale.
- Environmental policymakers and EU-level stakeholders interested in evidence supporting regulatory frameworks for nature-positive transformation.
- Researchers and innovators exploring cutting-edge methods for monitoring, modelling, and evaluating regenerative interventions.
- Civil society organisations and community practitioners involved in co-creation and participatory urban development.
- Urban developers, architects, and landscape designers aiming to integrate NBS into long-term planning and investment strategies.
Participants will gain exclusive insights into UPSURGE’s real-world demonstrations, access ready-to-use tools, and connect with a European network shaping the future of regenerative, climate-resilient cities.
Why Now? – Policy Context
The conference comes at a pivotal moment for EU urban policy. With the European Green Deal, the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, and the Nature Restoration Law, cities face rising expectations to deliver systemic, nature-based, and regenerative transformations.
UPSURGE’s final results provide practical, evidence-based pathways to help cities meet these ambitions—bridging the gap between high-level policy goals and on-the-ground implementation.
Be Part of the Conversation
Save the date and join us as we explore how UPSURGE innovations can support greener, healthier, and more resilient cities, and how urban stakeholders can build on these outcomes beyond the project’s completion. Agenda and registration fill follow shortly.
Important information:
- Register before 3rd February 2026!
- The conference will be held in English.
- No translation will be provided.
- Authorisation to use recordings from the event for promotional purposes – PDF
Registration Form:
Preliminary Agenda
TIME
SESSION
08:30 – 09:00
REGISTRATION & NETWORKING COFFEE
09:00 – 09:30
OPENING SESSION
Welcome speeches:
- Marcin Krupa – Mayor of the Katowice City
- Darko Fercej – UPSURGE Project Coordinator, E-Institute
- Project Officer, European Commission (tbc)
09:30 – 10:45
SESSION 1 – SETTING THE SCENE: FROM POLICY VISIONS TO CITY ACTION: ADDRESSING THE URBAN REGENERATION CHALLENGE
Objective for this session: Present and discuss the current policy landscape related to regenerative transition of cities, the emerging obligations, opportunities and challenges for cities related to the EU Nature Restoration Law
Keynote: Paola Lepori, Head of Biodiversity & Nature-based Solutions team at ICLEI Europe
Session Moderator: Priscila Franco Steier, ICLEI Europe
Discussion Panel:
- Why cities must act now?
- How can cities most effectively respond to the environmental/climate and related spatial and social challenges of regenerative urban transformations?
- What are the biggest barriers cities face in responding to these challenges: financial, regulatory, organisational, or social?
Panellists:
- Paola Lepori, ICLEI Europe
- Martin Grisel, Director at EUKN (European Urban Knowledge Network)
- Małgorzata Bartyna-Zielińska, City Council of Wrocław
- Helena Jadwiszczok-Molencka, the Silesian Marshal’s Office
10:45 – 11:15
COFFEE-BREAK
11:15 – 13:00
SESSION 2 – INNOVATIONS FOR DELIVERING REGENERATIVE URBAN TRANSFORMATION: KEY UPSURGE ACHIEVEMENTS TO ADDRESS THE CITIES’ CHALLENGES
Objective for this session: Highlight the key innovative achievements developed and tested under the UPSURGE project that may help cities effectively address the challenges of strategic planning, implementation and monitoring of regenerative actions
Introduction:
Key challenges of the Regenerative Urban Transformations addressed by the UPSURGE project – Darko Fercej, E-Institute
5 cluster presentations:
- UPSURGE innovations to support fit-for-purpose NBS design – Thomas Martinez, The Tarrasense Conditioning Association [LEITAT]
- UPSURGE innovations in support of NBS & communities engagement/society relations – Christina Haderer / Janine Maier, University of Passau [UPASS]
- UPSURGE innovations for fit-for-purpose NBS implementation and upscaling – Jennifer Mckinley / Bakul Budhiraja, Queen’s University Belfast [QUB], Simon Elliott, University of Antwerp
- UPSURGE innovations for a holistic NBS environmental sensing and effectiveness monitoring – Ronald Chenú Abente Acosta, Opencontent Società Cooperativa [OC]
- UPSURGE innovations to support NBS strategic planning to enable regenerative transitions in cities – Tadej Zuman, POR Consult, d.o.o./GCE
13:00 – 13:30
LUNCH
13:30 – 14:30
SESSION 3 – REGENERATIVE INNOVATION IN PRACTICE: SPOTLIGHTS FROM THE UPSURGE PILOT CITIES
Session moderation: Jennifer McKinley & Bakul Budhiraja [QUB]
City Reflections on Key Innovative NbS and Highlights in Engagement Process – Belfast, Breda, Budapest, Katowice, Maribor
14:30 – 16:00
SESSION 4 – SCALING NATURE-BASED INNOVATION ACROSS EUROPE
Session moderation: Janine Maier & Christina Haderer [UPASS]
Navigating Sustainability and Scalability: Insights from UPSURGE Comparative Assessments and Simulations – Jennifer McKinley & Bakul Budhiraja [QUB]
Patras as an upscaling case of UPSURGE innovations – Konstadinos Konstadakopoulos / Vasilios Kantzaris [PATRAS]
Discussion Panel with UPSURGE demo cities:
Overcoming Challenges in Upscaling Nature-Based Solutions in Cities:
Representatives of Cities:
- Maribor
- Katowice
- Budapest
- Belfast
- Breda
Topics: Key Challenges in design and implementation phases and Lessons learnt from deployment and engagement –> how to upscale NBS based on UPSURGE Learnings
16:00 – 16:15
COFFEE-BREAK
16:15 – 16:45
SESSION 5 – CONNECTING THE DOTS: THE EU REGENERATIVE LIGHTHOUSE & URBANBYNATURE”
Launch of the UrbanByNature Services Portfolio as the UPSURGE legacy – Priscila Franco Steier, ICLEI Europe
16:45 – 17:15
WRAP UP AND CLOSING REMARKS
Key takeaways by Darko Fercej – UPSURGE Project Coordinator, E-Institute
Closing Remarks – Franceso Molinari, Advisory Board Member of the UPSURGE project and specialist in R&D and innovation policy, innovative public procurement, and living labs
17:15 – 18:30
NETWORKING