Multidimensional procedure for mapping and monitoring urban energy vulnerability at regional level using public data: Proposal and implementation into a case study in Spain

Energy poverty is nowadays one of the biggest challenges to be tackled in the European Union, so identifying the number of households in a situation of energy vulnerability and taking the necessary measures to protect vulnerable and energy poor customers is considered to be essential. In this study, a simple methodology for identifying and monitoring energy vulnerable areas based on information available in public databases is presented. This paper brings to light the potential of existing public data for evaluating energy vulnerability, and the nature of these data also enables the evolution of vulnerability levels and the effect of potential measures implemented to be evaluated. The proposed method allows energy vulnerability to be mapped and diagnosed, at census section level, by means of a three-dimensional index that takes into account building features and energy expenses and two socio-economic indicators, giving rise to a vulnerability traffic-light. The method is then illustrated with the evaluation of the energy vulnerability of a region located in northern Spain (Greater Bilbao), where 13% of the census sections or 93,000 inhabitants reside (11% of the total population analysed), have been identified as suffering different levels of energy vulnerability. A geographical pattern has also been clearly recognised.The project leading to these results has received funding from “La Caixa” Foundation under the project code LCF/PR/SR20/52550013. The work has also been supported by the European Union's Interreg Sudoe Programme through the ARCAS project ‘New assessment Methodology for social, sustainable and eco-friendly housing. Climate architecture for the Sudoe's area’, project reference SOE3/P3/E0922. The authors would also like to acknowledge to the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, for making the access to the EPCs database easier

Industria eta lurraldea

Ikasmaterial honen helburu nagusiak honako hauek dira: Aktibitate ekonomikoen eta bereziki industriaren artean eta lurraldearen artean dagoen harremana ulertzea eta azaltzea. Lurraldearen izaera aktiboa erakustea: enpresak, azpiegiturak eta giza baliabideak erakartzeko.Liburu honetan atal hauek agertzen dira: Industria-enpresen egiturak eta estrategiak azaltzen dira, eta hauen arabera espazioan nola antolatzen diren. Industria-enpresa hauek sareetan antolatzen direnean sortzen dituzten sistemak eta enpresa barrutiak . Ondoren enpresa-sare hauek sortzen dituzten espazio-motak edo geografiak azaltzen dira eta hauek ingurumenean duten eragina ere azaltzen da. StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counte

Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao

This study assesses the impact of a heat wave on the thermal comfort of an unconstructed area: the North Zone of the Island of Zorrotzaurre (Bilbao, Spain). In this study, the impact of urban planning as proposed in the master plan on thermal comfort is modeled using the ENVI-met program. Likewise, the question of whether the urbanistic proposals are designed to create more resilient urban environments is analyzed in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, especially heat waves. The study is centered on the analysis of temperature variables (air temperature and average radiant temperature) as well as wind speed and relative humidity. This was completed with the parameters of thermal comfort, the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and the Universal Temperature Climate Index (UTCI) for the hours of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures. The results demonstrated the viability of analyzing thermal comfort through simulations with the ENVI-met program in order to analyze the behavior of urban spaces in various climate scenarios.This research was funded by research group IT1314-19 of the Basque Government

Rift-margin extensional forced folds and salt tectonics in the eastern Basque-Cantabrian rift basin (western Pyrenees)

In this paper we present and discuss Cretaceous extensional folds of the eastern Basque-Cantabrian Basin (Northern Spain). Geometry and kinematics of folds is constrained by means of structural and sedimentological fieldwork integrated with geological mapping, revealing an intimate link between coeval folding, extensional faulting, and salt mobilization. In detail, the Mesozoic succession of the northwestern and southern borders of the Palaeozoic Bortziriak-Cinco Villas massif (eastern margin of the BCB) host late Albian–early Cenomanian syn-rift forced folds. The studied forced fold axes trend parallel and are located above main and inferred Cretaceous syn-sedimentary basement faults. Structural data indicate that these folds formed during the late Albian − early Cenomanian interval. The presence of Upper Triassic clay and evaporite outcrops along and/or close to the axes of folds and their stratigraphic relationship with Upper Cretaceous strata indicate their halokinetic origin and extrusion during folding. The trigger of salt tectonics is attributed to a basement extensional pulse during the Bay of Biscay – Pyrenean rifting. Related high subsidence-rates allowed salt to flow towards faults, forming salt walls and causing the inflation and folding of the overburden.This research was funded by grant BFI05.398 from the Basque Government to A. Bodego and grant AP98-44159606 from the Spanish Science Ministry to E. Iriarte. Funds were also supplied by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC) – Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) (projects CGL2006-05491/BTE and CGL2009-08545) and Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) (projects EHU06/62, UNESCO06/03 and EHUA15/18)

Analysis of the Air Quality of the Basque Autonomous Community Using Spatial Interpolation

This work presents the results obtained from a spatial modeling and analysis process on pollutants measured in the air through forty-three monitoring stations located in the three provinces of the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain). The pollutants measured correspond to the set of nitrogen oxides (nitric oxide, NO; nitrogen dioxide, NO 2 ; and nitrogen oxides, NO x ) and atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers (PM 10 ). The objective of this work was to generate a map of the pollutants that exhaustively covers the entire area of the Basque Autonomous Community using geostatistical techniques, in such a way that it serves as a basis for short and midterm environmental studies

Sistema de Información Geográfica Industrial: una herramienta para la gestión y la promoción de la industria. El caso de Álava (País Vasco)

En un periodo de transformación de la actividad industrial y de crisis económica como el actual es necesario innovar en las infraestructuras y servicios que se ofrecen al conjunto de la sociedad y a las empresas. Los procesos actuales están transformando los espacios productivos, dejando, en muchos casos, espacios vacantes que es necesario conocer y gestionar adecuadamente para así, hacer un uso eficiente y sostenible del suelo dedicado a las actividades económicas. Para ello, los SIG se constituyen como una herramienta innovadora que permite una mayor efectividad, transparencia y gobernanza en la gestión de los espacios industriales. En este artículo se pretende analizar una herramienta SIG creada para la gestión y la promoción de la actividad industrial en la provincia de Álava, así como proponer vías para su mejora

Diferenciación socio-espacial urbana: mapa sintético de la estratificación de los barrios de Bilbao

El objetivo de este trabajo es obtener una clasificación de los barrios de Bilbao (España) que permita apoyar la formulación y aplicación de las políticas urbanas. Para ello, se ha realizado una caracterización de los barrios del municipio de Bilbao en relación con los rasgos de la población, las condiciones socio-económicas, la cohesión social y las características de las viviendas. Esta clasificación se ha obtenido mediante el Análisis Factorial Múltiple (AFM) y el Análisis Clúster. El resultado son unas nuevas agrupaciones de los barrios de Bilbao que mejoran el conocimiento de las estructuras subyacentes en la ciudad y contribuyen a aplicar de forma más eficiente las estrategias de planificación urbana. De esta manera, la estratificación de los barrios del municipio de Bilbao en grupos homogéneos permite definir intervenciones adaptadas a las especificidades de cada barrio o grupo de barrios

Skills Needs of the Civil Engineering Sector in the European Union Countries: Current Situation and Future Trends

The construction sector has always occupied a strategic place in the European economy. The European construction industry suffered during the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, and today the sector is undergoing a recovery process. Among all the construction subsectors, civil engineering has the highest growth rate. Currently, the sector has to face profound industrial changes emerging with digital transformations (Industry 4.0), sustainability, climate change and energy efficiency. To promote the growth of the civil engineering sector and accelerate the recovery, we need to create a highly qualified and competent workforce that can handle the challenges coming up with the technological progress and global competitiveness. The main condition to achieve this capable workforce is to define the expected evolution of skills requirements. For that purpose, our work focuses on identifying current and near-future key skills required by the civil engineering occupations. To achieve this, we developed an automated sectoral database for the current and near-future skills requirements of the selected professional profiles. It is our belief that this sectoral database is a fundamental framework that will guide the sector through the future changes. We also believe that our research can be used as a key tool for construction companies, policy-makers, academics and training centers to develop well-designed and efficient training programs for upskilling and reskilling the workforce.This research was partly cofunded by: the European Union through the Erasmus Plus Programme (Grant Agreement No. 2018-3019/001-001, Project No. 600886-1-2018-1-DE-EPPKA2-SSA-B), Accenture, Inzu Group, Fundación Telefónica and Fundación BBK, partners of the Deusto Digital Industry Chair

Políticas de suelo industrial en Álava

(ES) En este artículo son analizadas las políticas de suelo industrial en Álava, uno de los tres territorios históricos o provincias), junto con Vizcaya y Guipúzcoa, que integra la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (CAPV en adelante). En un primer apartado exponemos los planteamientos teóricos actuales que inspiran el diseño de las políticas en materia de suelo industrial y posteriormente valoramos las actuaciones y los resultados de los diferentes organismos que gestionan este tipo de suelo en Álava. Finalmente, avanzamos los resultados preliminares obtenidos mediante el SIG Alavamap.(EN) This paper analyzes the industrial lands policies in the province of Alava (Basque Country). Firstly, we describe the current theoretical approaches that inspire the design of policies for industrial land and secondly we analyze the programs and results of the organizations who manage the land used for business areas and industrial parks in Alava. Finally, we analyze de results obtained through the Alavamap GIS

Hirigune historikoen babesa klima-aldaketaren aurrean: arriskua neurtzeko metodologiak

Artikulu honetan hirigune historikoetarako klima–aldaketarekin erlazionatutako arriskuen ebaluaziorako metodologiei buruzko egungo literaturaren berrikuspen sistematiko eta kritikoa egiten da. Horretarako, gaur egungo literaturaren azterketa sakona egin da Web of Science eta Scopus datu-baseetan, klima-aldaketaren eta ondoriozko muturretako gertaeren eraginpean dagoen kultura-ondarearen kalteberatasun eta arrisku ebaluazio metodologiak identifikatu eta ezaugarritzeko. Etorkizunean zuzendu beharreko metodologien ezaugarriak eta ezagutza-hutsune nagusiak identifikatu dira, hirigune historikoetan bero-boladak izateko arriskua ebaluatzeko metodologia holistikorik eza barne. Berrikuspenaren emaitzak aztertu dira, ondoren arriskuak ebaluatzeko etorkizuneko metodologietarako adierazleak identifikatu eta garatzeko. Metodologia horiek, hirigune historikoetako elementuak sistema bakar gisa landuko dituzte, eta bero-bolada luzeek izan dezaketen inpaktu potentziala landuko dute, muturreko gertaera klimatiko horien probabilitate handiagoa kontsideratuz.; This article presents a systematic and critical review of the existing literature on climate-change risk assessment methodologies for historic urban areas. For this, a systematic search of the existing literature on Web of Science and Scopus was carried out, with the aim of identifying and characterizing the existing methodologies on vulnerability and risk assessment for cultural heritage exposed to the effects of climate change and the resulting extreme events. The main characteristics of the methodologies that need to be addressed in the near future and the key knowledge gaps were identified, including the lack of holistic heat wave risk assessment methodologies for historic urban areas. The results of the review are analyzed to identify and develop key performance indicators for use in future risk assessment methodologies that address both the elements of historic urban areas as a system and the potential impact of prolonged heat waves in light of increasing probability of this extreme weather events