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In Spain, the effects of climate change are shockingly apparent: cities across the Mediterranean country have seen property destroyed, lives lost, and urban areas devastated as a result of extreme weather and wildfires.

For local governments, the need to make their cities more resilient to phenomena like flooding, water scarcity, and forest fires is becoming more acute. Whilst adapting to these threats, city leaders are also tasked with urgently ramping up actions to cut climate-harming emissions.

One city that has a long history of taking sustainability seriously is Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the autonomous Basque Country region. In 2020, the city was crowned the greenest in Spain. It was also the recipient of the EU's European Green Capital Award in 2012 and the UN's Global Green City Award in 2019.

The Basque capital is known for its extensive array of connected parklands that circle the urban core, its efforts to shift to a more circular economy, and its embrace of sustainable mobility, including adopting the famous “superblocks” concept to calm traffic and prioritise pedestrians.

Aitor Zulueta, the director of the Climate Change office in Vitoria-Gasteiz, joins the Urban Report to discuss the future of local sustainability.

Zulueta touches on the need to act now rather than endlessly strategising about how to cut emissions in the future, the city's efforts to implement climate adaptation measures, and how local governments can be more receptive to the needs and desires of climate-concerned citizens.

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If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach Sean at his X account: Sean Carroll

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