Vitoria Gasteiz

Spain

Mission city Pilot city
National Mission Ecosystem Spain
Vitoria Gasteiz Mission City Label
Population 260k
City Area 151.0 km²
City active since June 2022

Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country in northern Spain, located inland between mountain ranges and surrounded by agricultural and natural landscapes. The city has an oceanic climate with continental influence, experiencing mild temperatures but increasingly facing climate-related challenges such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and pressure on water resources and biodiversity.

 

Widely recognised for its long-standing commitment to sustainability, Vitoria-Gasteiz has embedded environmental planning into urban development for decades. The city is known for its compact urban model and extensive network of parks and green corridors, including the Green Belt that surrounds the city and plays a central role in climate adaptation and biodiversity protection.

 

Climate action in Vitoria-Gasteiz focuses on sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, nature-based solutions and resilient urban planning. Investments in cycling infrastructure, public transport and pedestrian-friendly public spaces have helped reduce car dependency, while actions in buildings and energy systems support emissions reduction. Green infrastructure is also used to manage heat, improve water retention and enhance quality of life.

 

The city’s approach combines environmental ambition with practical urban design and strong citizen engagement. By integrating climate goals into everyday planning and governance, Vitoria-Gasteiz continues to position itself as a leading example of how medium-sized cities can drive the transition towards climate neutrality while remaining highly liveable and connected to nature.

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Key Learnings

Enabling Massive Change for Climate-Neutral Cities - Spanish cities ECT activity

Spanish Mission Cities must rapidly scale up deep energy renovation to meet 2030 climate targets. However, progress is hindered by fragmented efforts, regulatory complexity, limited financing, and governance misalignment. Building on the URBANEW pilot, this project unites six cities to co-develop integrated, city-wide missions that align local, regional, and national actors. By embedding social inclusion into urban regeneration, the project aims to mainstream large-scale building decarbonisation, foster citizen co-creation, and generate replicable models for systemic transformation across Europe. Objectives Accelerate deep energy renovation across residential and public buildings Align governance, policy, and financing frameworks to enable systemic change Establish a Mission Cities Alliance for shared learning and replication Strengthen citizen participation in urban transformation Develop shared tools for impact measurement and adaptive decision- making ECT = Enabling City Transformation

Multi-stakeholder Solutions for Urban Innovative & Systemic Regeneration: Spanish cities pilot activity

Seven Spanish cities worked together to accelerate urban regeneration through inclusive retrofitting, energy innovation, and citizen participation. URBANEW focused on co-designing renovation strategies with residents, promoting bio-based construction, supporting vulnerable groups, and building local capacity. By aligning regulatory, financial, and social levers, the consortium created models for deep decarbonisation of the built environment designed for Southern European conditions. Cities involved: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Vitoria-Gasteix, Valladolid, Zaragoza.

Urban plan revision provides an opportunity to embed climate actions in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Vitoria-Gasteiz is leveraging the revision of its General Urban Plan (PGOU in Spanish) to better align urban planning with its climate neutrality ambitions. Urban plans are key instruments shaping land use, infrastructure and development over the long term, yet they often lack integration with climate strategies. This project was supported by funding from the EU Cities Mission, provided through the City Expert Support Facility (CESF) of NetZeroCities.

Exploring shared mobility solutions in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Vitoria-Gasteiz has launched a major car-pooling initiative to help achieve its climate neutrality aims. At the beginning of 2023, around 25,000 residents drove their own cars to industrial parks for work every day. Now, after a pilot project brought about 600 carpool trips a week, the measure will become long term.

Superblocks (Vitoria-Gasteiz)

The concept of “Superblocks” is an urban innovation that aims at low-carbon mobility following a participatory approach at the city and neighbourhood level. The idea is that the city, at the neighbourhood level, is reorganised into car-free areas that maximise public space for new social uses and keep road traffic outside the neighbourhoods – so called superblocks. Inner streets are redesigned for the primary use by pedestrians. The planning process as well as the adapted mobility behaviour after completion of the infrastructure changes both need strong communication and engagement work to faciliate a succesfull working of a Superblokck. In Vitoria-Gasteiz the positive environmental impacts of the measures were significant, reducing conmbustion engine-borne emmissions.

Recommendations for supporting municipalities in integrating Climate Action into the urban planning system

This guidance, developed under the NetZeroCities Project and funded by the City Expert Support Facility (CESF), aims to support municipalities—specifically Vitoria-Gasteiz—in aligning their urban planning with climate goals. It provides a structured framework to integrate climate action into the General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU), fostering sustainable, climate-resilient cities through collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches. Content Overview: Transforming from within Focuses on internal organizational change within municipal teams. Highlights the importance of fostering a culture of climate commitment, enhancing interdepartmental collaboration, and building capacity to address climate challenges through urban planning. New Approaches to Municipal Action Introduces innovative methodologies and tools for urban planning that prioritize climate action. Encourages adaptive governance, participatory processes, and the integration of climate risks and opportunities into planning frameworks. Keys to a Climate-Neutral PGOU Outlines essential strategies for achieving climate neutrality, such as promoting renewable energy, sustainable transport, green infrastructure, and circular economy principles. Emphasizes aligning urban development with local Climate Action Plans and international sustainability targets (e.g., the Paris Agreement). Next Steps for Your Municipality Provides actionable steps for municipalities to operationalize recommendations. Includes a roadmap for stakeholder engagement, policy integration, and monitoring progress toward climate goals. Learning from Other Cities Shares case studies and best practices from cities that have successfully integrated climate action into urban planning. Offers lessons learned and adaptable strategies to inspire and guide municipalities. Context and Collaboration: Produced through a competitive bidding process, the guidance reflects collaborative efforts between Paisaje Transversal, Tecnalia, the EU CINCO 2.0 project team (citiES 2030, DemSoc, DarkMatterLabs and Climate KIC NEB) supported by Laudes Foundation, and the municipal team of Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is grounded in a collective reflection process within the city council, blending academic research, practical expertise, and real-world application to ensure actionable, evidence-based recommendations. Purpose and Impact: This document serves as a practical, multidisciplinary resource to empower municipalities to transform urban planning into a driver of climate action, ensuring long-term sustainability and resilience.
View all Vitoria Gasteiz Resources

Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight

Spain's Pilot Activity: URBANEW: Multi-stakeholder innovative and systemic solutions for urban regeneration Spain - NetZeroCities

Seven Spanish cities will develop a pilot programme to promote a systemic transformation and ensure that the residential, commercial, public and private building sectors reduce their carbon footprint and become energy efficient. To this end, the cities will mobilise their stakeholders and jointly promote actions to encourage energy rehabilitation and the substitution of construction materials, encouraging the use of local raw materials with a low carbon footprint and promoting the deployment of renewable energies under self-consumption models and energy communities. The planned activities will be tested in seven cities simultaneously, in several climatic and socio-economical contexts. Lessons learned will allow to obtain a complete vision of this pilot, with a deep diagnosis to better understand the barriers and levers to decarbonise the built environment and integrate renewable energies. 

Read more
Visit Vitoria Gasteiz City Website Read Vitoria Gasteiz Climate City Contract Cologne City Profile (Twin City) Soria City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives