Climate Scale selected for European SPACE4Cities project to strengthen urban climate resilience

Climate Scale is proud to announce that VISTA, a satellite-based solution developed together with BitaGreen and TreeSense, has been selected as one of the five winning projects in the European SPACE4Cities programme.

Following a highly competitive selection process, the project will now move into the pilot phase with a share of €1.25 million in funding, demonstrating how satellite data and climate intelligence can help cities manage green spaces more effectively and strengthen their resilience to climate change.

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What is SPACE4Cities?

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SPACE4Cities is a European innovation programme that supports the development of solutions using space technologies, including Earth observation and satellite positioning data, to address urban challenges.

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The programme helps bridge the gap between research and real-world implementation by funding pilot projects that enable cities to test innovative solutions under operational conditions. Following a competitive selection process, only five projects were chosen to move forward to the pilot phase, receiving a share of €1.25 million in funding.

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The challenge: making urban green spaces more climate resilient

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Urban green spaces are becoming increasingly important as cities adapt to the impacts of climate change. Healthy vegetation helps reduce the urban heat island effect, improves air quality, supports biodiversity and contributes to citizens' wellbeing.

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However, maintaining parks, trees and other green infrastructure efficiently is becoming more challenging. Municipalities need reliable, up-to-date information to understand vegetation health, prioritise maintenance actions and evaluate the environmental and economic impact of their decisions.

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This is where satellite observations and climate intelligence can provide a significant advantage, enabling cities to monitor large areas consistently and make more informed, data-driven decisions.

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VISTA: a satellite-based solution for smarter urban green space management

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VISTA was developed by BitaGreen, Climate Scale and TreeSense to help municipalities manage urban green spaces more effectively through the combination of satellite data, climate intelligence and environmental analytics.

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The platform provides near real-time insights into vegetation health, maintenance requirements and the effects of maintenance actions, helping city managers optimise resources while improving environmental outcomes.

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The solution will now be piloted in Guimarães, Portugal, where it will be tested under real operating conditions as part of the SPACE4Cities programme.

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How Climate Scale contributes to VISTA

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Climate Scale contributes its expertise in high-resolution climate data, environmental modelling and climate intelligence to the VISTA consortium.

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Our role is to help transform complex climate and geospatial data into actionable insights that improve decision-making for urban green infrastructure. By integrating climate information with satellite observations, VISTA provides a more complete understanding of how environmental conditions influence vegetation health and maintenance priorities.

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The project also reflects a broader evolution in the use of climate intelligence. While climate data has become an essential tool for renewable energy planning, it is increasingly supporting cities as they adapt to a changing climate and build more resilient urban environments.

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From innovation to real-world impact

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Over the coming months, the VISTA consortium will work closely with the City of Guimarães to validate the solution during the pilot phase.

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Being selected by the SPACE4Cities programme is an important milestone for the project and reinforces the growing role of satellite data and climate intelligence in helping cities make smarter, more sustainable decisions.

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At Climate Scale, we are excited to contribute our expertise to this collaboration and to help develop innovative climate services that deliver tangible benefits for cities across Europe.

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