Francesc Baró

I am Asst. Professor at the Geography and Sociology Departments of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium, where I lead an interdisciplinary research line on urban ecology. I am also an associate senior researcher with BCNUEJ, where I co-lead the research line “Urban Climate Risk, Infrastructure, and Justice”. I obtained a PhD in Environmental Science and Technology (2016) awarded with Excellent Cum Laude and the Special Prize for Doctoral Studies from UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona). 

My PhD thesis examined the concepts of ecosystem services and green infrastructure in the urban context, developing a pioneering framework to assess mismatches between (urban) ecosystem service provision and demand. Since then, my research has been motivated to understand the role of urban nature towards more just, (climate) resilient, healthy and sustainable cities, combining geospatial and advanced quantitative and qualitative data analyses, including participatory methods. I have participated in several EU-funded ground-breaking research projects (URBES, OpenNESS, Naturvation, GreenLULUs, etc.) with multiple leading roles and responsibilities. Since 2022, I am the co-PI of the European project “Coolschools”, a partnership of 16 organizations including universities, local governments, SMEs and international NGOs examining the role of climate nature-based solutions in school environments.

Research projects:

COOLSCHOOLS

CLEARING HOUSE

NATURE4ALL

GREENEXUS

Research keywords:

Urban ecosystem services, green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, geospatial analysis, landscape and urban planning, urban ecology, social-ecological systems, urban resilience, environmental justice and equity, green gentrification