PUREPOLIS: New EU Project for Cleaner, Healthier Cities

The Challenge: Pollution and Urban Health

Each year, pollution claims and affects hundreds of thousands of lives across Europe. Even as air pollution levels continue to decline, it is still expected to cause around 200,000 premature deaths every year across the EU in the coming decade. Europe’s freshwater and soils are also under significant pressure from pollution and climate change, presenting current and future challenges to water security and ecosystems’ resilience with direct effects on human health. Furthermore, over 30% of Europe’s population lives in areas where noise levels are harmful to health.

Exposure to pollution is higher in urban areas, and the impacts on human health are more severe. City administrations often need to balance multiple and uncertain effects of pollution management amid limited resources.

PUREPOLIS: Supporting Evidence-Based Urban Decisions

The Horizon Europe project PUREPOLIS supports policymakers by providing data and citizen-based insights to inform the development of cleaner and healthier cities. With a total budget of € 4.9 million, the project will launch in January 2026 and will bring together 19 partners from across Europe. Over a three-year period, the consortium will develop strategies for the management of urban air, water soil, and noise pollution. 

“With PUREPOLIS, we aim to equip cities with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed, science-based decisions for cleaner and healthier urban environments,” says Dr. Alexandra Schneider, Deputy Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Head of the Research Group Environmental Risks at Helmholtz Munich, who leads the PUREPOLIS project. “By connecting data, innovation, and citizens’ perspectives, we can make pollution management more effective, inclusive, and equitable across Europe.”

Developing Dynamic Abatement Strategies

Funded under the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, PUREPOLIS aims to develop Dynamic Abatement Strategies (DAS) specifically designed to empower city administrations to make informed decisions for managing urban pollution. These strategies will be transferable, scalable and replicable across European cities, building on existing city networks.

In addition to core cities of Nantes (France) and Valencia (Spain), the project involves three follower cities – Berlin, Rybnik, and Augsburg – which will assess the transferability of the project’s results. By integrating science, digital innovation, and citizen engagement, PUREPOLIS seeks to advance pollution management and strengthen urban resilience across Europe.

PUREPOLIS will:

• Improve methods for assessing exposure to air, water, soil, and noise pollution, especially for vulnerable groups
• Accelerate adoption of smart, zero-emission solutions by local and regional authorities
• Expand urban greening, renaturing, green/blue infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem-based approaches to support climate mitigation and adaptation

About the Consortium

PUREPOLIS is coordinated by Helmholtz Munich and brings together a diverse consortium of 19 partners, including: 

• Academic and scientific partners: University of Twente (the Netherlands); UMIT Tirol (Austria); LUT University (Finland); University of Augsburg (Germany); Universidade de Vigo (Spain) 
• Technological partners: Leitat (Spain); UNINOVA (Portugal); Tree Technology (Spain); Substitute ApS (Denmark); UrbanThink (France); Euroquality (France) 
• Public authorities: Nantes Métropole (France); Valencia Innovation Capital (Spain); Rybnik (Poland) 
• Civil society organisations: the European Public Health Alliance (Belgium); Healthy Cities (Spain) 
• Environmental and monitoring agencies: Air Pays de la Loire (France); Acoucité  (France)