This study examines governance strategies that facilitate sustainable regional circular bioeconomy development, culminating in a typology which enables the classification of regional government good practices supporting circular bioeconomy deployment in diverse regions within Europe. Data on regional circular bioeconomy governance models were collected through desk research and a survey, resulting in a compilation of 61 circular bioeconomy governance models. From this compilation, 20 case studies were identified and further explored to develop a typology of regional circular bioeconomy governance strategies in the EU-27. Findings reveal a strong regional commitment to expanding bioeconomies; however, managing conflicting sustainability goals remains a challenge. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of successful governance models and practices, offering valuable insights for policymakers to support the co-development and replication of effective circular bioeconomy strategies across diverse European regions.

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon, combined with reduced vegetation and heat generated by human activities, presents a major environmental challenge for many European urban areas. The UHI effect is especially concerning in hot and temperate climates, like the Mediterranean region, during the summer months as it intensifies the discomfort and raises the risk of heat-related health issues. As a result, assessing urban heat dynamics and steering sustainable land management practices is becoming increasingly crucial. Analyzing the relationship between land cover and Land Surface Temperature (LST) can significantly contribute to achieving this objective. This study evaluates the spatial correlations between various land cover types and LST trends in Thessaloniki, Greece, using data from the Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) program and advanced vegetation index techniques within Google Earth Engine (GEE). Our analysis revealed that there has been a gradual increase in average surface temperature over the past five years, with a more pronounced increase observed in the last two years (2022 and 2023) with mean annual LST values reaching 26.07 °C and 27.09 °C, respectively. By employing indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and performing correlation analysis, we further analyzed the influence of diverse urban landscapes on LST distribution across different land use categories over the study area, contributing to a deeper understanding of UHI effects.

High-resolution remotely sensed data, which are characterised by their advanced spectral and spatial capabilities, provide unprecedented opportunities to monitor and analyse the dynamic structures of urban environments. Platforms like Google Earth Engine (GEE) enhance these capabilities, as they provide access to vast datasets and tools for analysing key urban parameters, including land use, vegetation cover, and surface roughness–all critical components in urban sustainability studies. This study presents a knowledge-based framework for processing high-resolution satellite imagery tailored to address the demands of sustainable urban planning in the Municipality of Kalamaria in Thessaloniki, Greece. The framework emphasises the extraction of essential urban parameters, such as the spatial distribution of built-up and green spaces, alongside the analysis of surface roughness attributes, including displacement height and roughness length. Unlike conventional methods, our framework enables a detailed intra-urban analysis as these surface roughness attributes are calculated within 200 m × 200 m sub-units. Surface roughness indicators offer essential insights into aerodynamic drag and turbulent air mixing, both of which are directly influenced by the structural characteristics of the urban landscape. Using this approach, ‘wake interference flow’ type was identified as the dominant airflow pattern in the study area. This type was observed in 105 out of 150 sub-units, suggesting that these areas likely suffer from poor air circulation and are prone to higher concentrations of air pollutants. The integration of Google Earth Engine offered a scalable and replicable solution for large-scale urban analysis making it easily adaptable to other urban areas, especially where detailed morphological datasets are unavailable. By providing a robust, scalable, and data-driven tool for assessing urban form and airflow characteristics, our study offers a significant advancement in sustainable urban planning and climate resilience strategies, with clear potential for adaptation in other cities facing similar data limitations.

The Mediterranean region, identified by scientists as a ‘climate hot spot’, is experiencing warmer and drier conditions, along with an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. One such extreme phenomena is droughts. The recent wildfires in this region are a concerning consequence of this phenomenon, causing severe environmental damage and transforming natural landscapes. However, droughts involve a two-way interaction: On the one hand, climate change and various human activities, such as urbanization and deforestation, influence the development and severity of droughts. On the other hand, droughts have a significant impact on various sectors, including ecology, agriculture, and the local economy. This study investigates drought dynamics in four Mediterranean countries, Greece, France, Italy, and Spain, each of which has experienced severe wildfire events in recent years. Using satellite-based Earth observation data, we monitored drought conditions across these regions over a five-year period that includes the dates of major wildfires. To support this analysis, we derived and assessed key indices: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Normalized Difference Drought Index (NDDI). High-resolution satellite imagery processed within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform enabled the spatial and temporal analysis of these indicators. Our findings reveal that, in all four study areas, peak drought conditions, as reflected in elevated NDDI values, were observed in the months leading up to wildfire outbreaks. This pattern underscores the potential of satellite-derived indices for identifying regional drought patterns and providing early signals of heightened fire risk. The application of GEE offered significant advantages, as it allows efficient handling of long-term and large-scale datasets and facilitates comprehensive spatial analysis. Our methodological framework contributes to a deeper understanding of regional drought variability and its links to extreme events; thus, it could be a valuable tool for supporting the development of adaptive management strategies. Ultimately, such approaches are vital for enhancing resilience, guiding water resource planning, and implementing early warning systems in fire-prone Mediterranean landscapes.

The restoration of cultural heritage sites is a complex and challenging process, particularly when the structure holds significant historical and cultural value. This paper refers to the first stages of the restoration study of Pashas Bridge, one of the largest stone bridges in Greece that was destroyed during World War II and further damaged by an earthquake in 1995. The project was assigned to multiple research groups from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) for a period of 18 months by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports. To restore the bridge effectively, it is essential to accurately record, document, and assess its current condition. Through the use of photogrammetry, which creates 3D models of objects or structures using images, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which assisted in capturing multiple shots with various angles of the bridge, a detailed 3D model of the bridge’s current condition was generated. In addition to these technical approaches, historical research and documentation were utilized to understand the bridge's cultural heritage value. The process included an examination of historical photographs and records related to the bridge, with a constant effort to discover additional information about its history and importance. Ultimately, the restoration process of Pashas Bridge serves as a valuable case study for the effective restoration of cultural heritage sites. Through utilizing these resources, the team aims to restore the bridge to its former glory, preserving its cultural heritage value and ensuring its place as a valuable and integral part of the community for generations to come.

The DestinE Use Cases Project, executed by a Consortium led by RHEA Group with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Trust-IT, regards the selection and implementation of a first set of Use Cases meant to demonstrate the ability of the DestinE infrastructure in general, and the DestinE Service Platform (DESP) in particular, to provide actionable information and decision support to its end-users. The project aims also at actively engaging the broad community of DestinE stakeholders, gathering their requirements, and encouraging their direct involvement and guidance in the continuous evolution of the DestinE infrastructure towards the future Phases of the Initiative. The establishment of a strong (both in terms of numbers of members and interactions) and vibrant DestinE User Community seems crucial in informing the successful and well targeted development and initial operations of the DESP as well as guiding the evolution and sustainability of the platform in later phases of DestinE to respond to the priorities set by European and International policy frameworks. The aim is to create a network where the continuous interactions amongst users/developers as well as stakeholders/partners will enhance the development and improvement of DestinE capabilities, but also catalyse cross-sectorial collaborations. This community will be cοmprised by multiple and diverse types of stakeholders including scientists, policy makers, industry representatives and the general public which are split in Communities of Practice per Use Case (i.e. groups of members who share a common interest in a particular domain area or scientific topic). The community building activities follow a step-wise methodology to define Why (the objectives), What (the content), to Whom (the target/ stakeholder groups), Where (all channels and tools) and How (i.e. strategies, tools and channels suitable for each group). It also includes an action plan (When) along with clear quantitative targets and monitoring mechanisms, allowing also for ad-hoc and on-demand actions. An open, transparent and inclusive invitation process is established that aims to embrace new members and various levels of participation. Formal community governance structure appoints key instances required for successful community management while standards and rules define how members participate and interact with one another encouraging for contributions made by all. A DestinE Community Portal will be launched which intends to be the central hub for prospective users and downstream developers to interact with the initiative. It will showcase open calls for DestinE use cases and showcase funded ones and a requirements gathering area to allow the community to help co-develop solutions. It will also contain an early-stage Marketplace page of datasets, tools and apps, a developer section, a catalogue of DestinE-related projects, tools and results, and an e-Learning platform. For outreach, a “DestinE Roadshow” series will promote DestinE in various events, webinars and policy dialogues.