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Marta Olazabal

As attractors of services and population, urban areas need to move from rhetoric to action in the field of climate change action and transformation to sustainability. Taking advantage of the concentration of knowledge and innovation, the opportunity relies on cities and local communities. This complex challenge not only involves technologies deployment, but also the generation of the conditions required to engage society and other actors in the process of change. In this regard, my research aims to facilitate governance towards urban sustainability and resilience in the context of climate change. I am particularly interested in tools and processes that uncover the complexity of urban systems and help to overcome the barriers to a more sustainable and resilient development.

"As attractors of services and population, urban areas need to move from rhetoric to action in the field of climate change action and transformation to sustainability. Taking advantage of the concentration of knowledge and innovation, the opportunity relies on cities and local communities. This complex challenge not only involves technologies deployment, but also the generation of the conditions required to engage society and other actors in the process of change. In this regard, my research aims to facilitate governance towards urban sustainability and resilience in the context of climate change. I am particularly interested in tools and processes that uncover the complexity of urban systems and help to overcome the barriers to a more sustainable and resilient development."

Position:
Ikerbasque Associate Researcher
Main Research Field:
Adaptation to climate change and urban resilience
BC3 Research Line:
4. Research Line Adaptation Lab
Contact information:
Email address: marta.olazabal@bc3research.org
Contact phone: +34 94-401 46 90 ext. 122
Scopus Author ID: 26023613900
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3381-0654

Short CV
Journal articles
Books & special editions
Book chapters
Other publications
BC3 Working Papers & Policy Briefings

Short CV

I am an interdisciplinary scientist exploring pathways of progress on climate action in cities worldwide. I am also an Ikerbasque Research Associate and Head of the Adaptation Research Group at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3). At BC3, I also facilitate conversations around everything urban and I am a member of the Management Committee. I have a background in Environmental Engineering, a PhD in Land Economy and almost 20 years of experience in urban sustainability and climate governance. My interests revolve around environmental governance, local climate planning and transdisciplinary sciences including knowledge production. My current work focuses on the assessment of climate adaptation progress at the local scale. I have an extensive publication record in top international peer-reviewed journals, actively advise national and international bodies and mentor MSc and PhD students. Since 2020, I have been a member of the Steering Committee of the International Platform on Adaptation Metrics (IPAM). I am now the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council project IMAGINE Adaptation (https://imagineadapt.bc3research.org/).

Next, you can find my scientific outputs since I arrived at BC3 in 2012, but for a more comprehensive list see my Google Scholar Profile. https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=GuE84bwAAAAJ&hl=en.

If you would like to discuss potential collaborations with our team or are interested in our research, please contact me.

Journal Articles

2023
Goodwin, S., Olazabal, M., Castro, A.J., Pascual, U. 2023. Global mapping of urban nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. Nature Sustainability. 6 (4) 458-469. DOI (10.1038/s41893-022-01036-x).
Pietrapertosa, F., Olazabal, M., Simoes, S.G., Salvia, M., Fokaides, P.A., Ioannou, B.I., Viguié, V., Spyridaki, N.A., De Gregorio Hurtado, S., Geneletti, D., Heidrich, O., Tardieu, L., Feliu, E., Rižnar, K., Matosović, M., Balzan, M.V., Flamos, A., Šel, N.B., Reckien, D. 2023. Adaptation to climate change in cities of Mediterranean Europe. Cities. 140. DOI (10.1016/j.cities.2023.104452).
Prall, M., Olazabal, M., Lehmann, M. 2023. Socio-economic projections in urban climate change adaptation planning: Practices and prospects for just adaptation. Habitat International. 142. DOI (10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102946).
Reckien, D., Buzasi, A., Olazabal, M., Spyridaki, N.A., Eckersley, P., Simoes, S.G., Salvia, M., Pietrapertosa, F., Fokaides, P., Goonesekera, S.M., Tardieu, L., Balzan, M.V., de Boer, C.L., De Gregorio Hurtado, S., Feliu, E., Flamos, A., Foley, A., Geneletti, D., Grafakos, S., Heidrich, O., Ioannou, B., Krook-Riekkola, A., Matosovic, M., Orru, H., Orru, K., Paspaldzhiev, I., Rižnar, K., Smigaj, M., Szalmáné Csete, M., Viguié, V., Wejs, A. 2023. Quality of urban climate adaptation plans over time. npj Urban Sustainability. 3 (1) DOI (10.1038/s42949-023-00085-1).
2022
Goonesekera, S.M., Olazabal, M. 2022. Climate adaptation indicators and metrics: State of local policy practice. Ecological Indicators. 145. DOI (10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109657).
Olazabal, M., Broto, V.C. 2022. Institutionalisation of urban climate adaptation: three municipal experiences in Spain. Buildings and Cities. 3 (1) 570-588. DOI (10.5334/bc.208).
Williams, D.S., Balaban, O., Ilhan, A., Paker, H., Şahin, Ü., Yıldırım, B.S., Turhan, E., Uncu, B.A., Olazabal, M. 2022. A policy content analysis for evaluating urban adaptation justice in İstanbul. Environmental Science and Policy. 136. 476-485. DOI (10.1016/j.envsci.2022.07.014).
2021
Cremades, R., Sanchez-Plaza, A., Hewitt, R.J., Mitter, H., Baggio, J.A., Olazabal, M., Broekman, A., Kropf, B., Tudose, N.C. 2021. Guiding cities under increased droughts: The limits to sustainable urban futures. Ecological Economics. 189. DOI (10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107140).
Olazabal, M., Chu, E., Castán Broto, V., Patterson, J. 2021. Subaltern forms of knowledge are required to boost local adaptation. One Earth. 4 (6) 828-838-838. DOI (10.1016/j.oneear.2021.05.006).
Olazabal, M., Ruiz De Gopegui, M. 2021. Adaptation planning in large cities is unlikely to be effective. Landscape and Urban Planning. 206. DOI (10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103974).
Sainz de Murieta, E., Galarraga, I., Olazabal, M. 2021. How well do climate adaptation policies align with risk-based approaches? An assessment framework for cities. Cities. 109. DOI (10.1016/j.cities.2020.103018).
Salvia, M., Olazabal, M., Fokaides, P.A., Tardieu, L., Simoes, S.G., Geneletti, D., De Gregorio Hurtado, S., Viguié, V., Spyridaki, N.A., Pietrapertosa, F., Ioannou, B.I., Matosović, M., Flamos, A., Balzan, M.V., Feliu, E., Rižnar, K., Šel, N.B., Heidrich, O., Reckien, D. 2021. Climate mitigation in the Mediterranean Europe: An assessment of regional and city-level plans. Journal of Environmental Management. 295. DOI (10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113146).
Salvia, M., Reckien, D., Pietrapertosa, F., Eckersley, P., Spyridaki, N.A., Krook-Riekkola, A., Olazabal, M., De Gregorio Hurtado, S., Simoes, S.G., Geneletti, D., Viguié, V., Fokaides, P.A., Ioannou, B.I., Flamos, A., Csete, M.S., Buzasi, A., Orru, H., de Boer, C., Foley, A., Rižnar, K., Matosović, M., Balzan, M.V., Smigaj, M., Baštáková, V., Streberova, E., Šel, N.B., Coste, L., Tardieu, L., Altenburg, C., Lorencová, E.K., Orru, K., Wejs, A., Feliu, E., Church, J.M., Grafakos, S., Vasilie, S., Paspaldzhiev, I., Heidrich, O. 2021. Will climate mitigation ambitions lead to carbon neutrality? An analysis of the local-level plans of 327 cities in the EU. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 135. DOI (10.1016/j.rser.2020.110253).
2020
Olazabal, M., de Gopegui, M.R. 2020. What climatic impacts are Spanish cities preparing for?. Ekonomiaz. 97. (1) 213-239-239.
Revi A., Anguelovski I., Filho W.L., Olazabal M., Chu E., Cooper J.T., Garschagen M., Nelson D.R. 2020. Transformative Adaptation in Cities. One Earth. 3 (4) 384-387. DOI (10.1016/j.oneear.2020.10.002).
Sainz de Murieta, E., Olazabal, M., Sanz, E. 2020. ¿Están las ciudades españolas adaptándose al cambio climático?. Papeles De Economía Española.
2019
Olazabal, M., Galarraga, I., Ford, J., Sainz De Murieta, E., Lesnikowski, A. 2019. Are local climate adaptation policies credible? A conceptual and operational assessment framework. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development. 11. (3) 277-296-296. DOI (10.1080/19463138.2019.1583234).
Olazabal, M., Ruiz De Gopegui, M., Tompkins, E.L., Venner, K., Smith, R. 2019. A cross-scale worldwide analysis of coastal adaptation planning. Environmental Research Letters. 14. (12) DOI (10.1088/1748-9326/ab5532).
Reckien, D., Salvia, M., Pietrapertosa, F., Simoes, S.G., Olazabal, M., De Gregorio Hurtado, S., Geneletti, D., Krkoška Lorencová, E., D'Alonzo, V., Krook-Riekkola, A., Fokaides, P.A., Ioannou, B.I., Foley, A., Orru, H., Orru, K., Wejs, A., Flacke, J., Church, J.M., Feliu, E., Vasilie, S., Nador, C., Matosović, M., Flamos, A., Spyridaki, N.A., Balzan, M.V., Fülöp, O., Grafakos, S., Paspaldzhiev, I., Heidrich, O. 2019. Dedicated versus mainstreaming approaches in local climate plans in Europe. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 112. 948-959-959. DOI (10.1016/j.rser.2019.05.014).
2018
Olazabal, M., Chelleri, L., Sharifi, A. 2018. Is Connectivity a Desirable Property in Urban Resilience Assessments?. Lecture Notes in Energy. 65. 195-211. DOI (10.1007/978-3-319-75798-8_11).
Olazabal, M., Chiabai, A., Foudi, S., Neumann, M.B. 2018. Emergence of new knowledge for climate change adaptation. Environmental Science and Policy. 83. 46-53-53. DOI (10.1016/j.envsci.2018.01.017).
Olazabal, M., Neumann, M.B., Foudi, S., Chiabai, A. 2018. Transparency and Reproducibility in Participatory Systems Modelling: the Case of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. 35. (6) 791-810-810. DOI (10.1002/sres.2519).
Reckien, D., Salvia, M., Heidrich, O., Church, J.M., Pietrapertosa, F., De Gregorio-Hurtado, S., D'Alonzo, V., Foley, A., Simoes, S.G., Krkoška Lorencová, E., Orru, H., Orru, K., Wejs, A., Flacke, J., Olazabal, M., Geneletti, D., Feliu, E., Vasilie, S., Nador, C., Krook-Riekkola, A., Matosović, M., Fokaides, P.A., Ioannou, B.I., Flamos, A., Spyridaki, N.A., Balzan, M.V., Fülöp, O., Paspaldzhiev, I., Grafakos, S., Dawson, R. 2018. How are cities planning to respond to climate change? Assessment of local climate plans from 885 cities in the EU-28. Journal of Cleaner Production. 191. 207-219-219. DOI (10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.220).
2017
Sharifi, A., Chelleri, L., Fox-Lent, C., Grafakos, S., Pathak, M., Olazabal, M., Moloney, S., Yumagulova, L., Yamagata, Y. 2017. Conceptualizing dimensions and characteristics of urban resilience: Insights from a co-design process. Sustainability (Switzerland). 9 (6) DOI (10.3390/su9061032).
2016
Heidrich, O., Reckien, D., Olazabal, M., Foley, A., Salvia, M., de Gregorio Hurtado, S., Orru, H., Flacke, J., Geneletti, D., Pietrapertosa, F., Hamann, J.J.P., Tiwary, A., Feliu, E., Dawson, R.J. 2016. National climate policies across Europe and their impacts on cities strategies. Journal of Environmental Management. 168. 36-45-45. DOI (10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.043).
Olazabal, M., Pascual, U. 2016. Use of fuzzy cognitive maps to study urban resilience and transformation. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 18. 18-40-40. DOI (10.1016/j.eist.2015.06.006).
2015
Chelleri, L., Waters, J.J., Olazabal, M., Minucci, G. 2015. Resilience trade-offs: addressing multiple scales and temporal aspects of urban resilience. Environment and Urbanization. 27. (1) 181-198-198. DOI (10.1177/0956247814550780).
Hurtado, Sonia De Gregorio; Olazabal, Marta; Salvia, Monica; Pietrapertosa, Filomena; Olazabal, Eduardo; Geneletti, Davide; D'Alonzo, Valentina; Leo, Senatro Di; Reckien, Diana. 2015. Understanding How and Why Cities Engage with Climate Policy: An Analysis of Local Climate Action in Spain and Italy. Tema. Journal Of Land Use, Mobility And Environment. 8 23-46. DOI (10.6092/1970-9870/3649).
Olazabal, M., Pascual, U. 2015. Urban low-carbon transitions: Cognitive barriers and opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production. 109. 336-346-346. DOI (10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.047).
Reckien, D., Flacke, J., Olazabal, M., Heidrich, O. 2015. The influence of drivers and barriers on urban adaptation and mitigation plans-an empirical analysis of European Cities. PLoS ONE. 10. (8) DOI (10.1371/journal.pone.0135597).
2014
Reckien, D., Flacke, J., Dawson, R.J., Heidrich, O., Olazabal, M., Foley, A., Hamann, J.J.P., Orru, H., Salvia, M., de Gregorio Hurtado, S., Geneletti, D., Pietrapertosa, F. 2014. Climate change response in Europe: What's the reality? Analysis of adaptation and mitigation plans from 200 urban areas in 11 countries. Climatic Change. 122. (1-2) 331-340-340. DOI (10.1007/s10584-013-0989-8).

Books and Specials

2012
Lorenzo Chelleri, Anna Kunath, Guido Minucci, Marta Olazabal, James J. Waters and Lilia Yumalogava. 2012 --. In: Lorenzo Chelleri and Marta Olazabal. In: Multidisciplinary perspectives on Urban Resilience. 1st ed. Bilbao. Basque Centre for Climate Change, BC3. 78. ISBN 978-84-695-6025-9.

Book chapters

2020
Marta Olazabal. 2020 El Reto Climático en las Ciudades. In: Ministerio de Defensa. In: Las ciudades: agentes críticos para una transformación sostenible del mundo. Ministerio de Defensa. ISBN 978-84-9091-505-9 .
Olazabal, M. 2020 An adaptation agenda for the new climate urbanism: global insights. In: Castán Broto, V., Robin, E., While, A. In: Climate Urbanism: towards a critical research agenda. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-53385-4.
2018
Bouwer L, Capriolo A, Chiabai A, Foudi S, Garrote L, Harmá?ková ZV, Iglesias A, Jeuken A, Olazabal M, Spadaro JV, Taylor T, Zandersen M . 2018 Upscaling the impacts of climate change in different sectors. In: Sanderson H, Hildén M, Russel D, Penha-Lopes G, Capriolo A . In: Adapting to Climate Change in Europe 1st Edition. Exploring Sustainable Pathways - From Local Measures to Wider Policies. 1st ed. Amsterdam. Elsevier. 347. ISBN 978-0-12-849887-3.
Marta Olazabal, Lorenzo Chelleri, Ayyoob Sharifi. 2018 Is Connectivity a Desirable Property in Urban Resilience Assessments?. In: Yoshiki Yamagata, Ayyoob Sharifi. In: Resilience-Oriented Urban Planning. - Springer. 195-211. ISBN 978-3-319-75797-1.
2017
Olazabal, M. 2017 Resilience, Sustainability and Transformability of Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems. In: Sonja Deppisch. In: Urban Regions Now & Tomorrow. 1st ed. Wiesbaden, Germany. Springer. 73-97. ISBN 978-3-658-16758-5.
2015
Olazabal, M., Reckien, D. 2015 Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping: applications to urban environmental decision-making. In: Ruth, M. In: Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Environmental Studies. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Other Publications

2022
Goonesekera, Sasha M., Olazabal, Marta. 2022. Dataset: Indicators and metrics in local climate adaptation plans. Zenodo. DOI (10.5281/zenodo.5705687).
2020
Sanz, M.J. y Galán, E. (editoras), 2020. Impactos y riesgos derivados del cambio climático en España. Oficina Española de Cambio Climático. Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, Madrid (https://www.adaptecca.es/sites/default/files/documentos/impactosyriesgosccespanawebfinal_tcm30-518210_0.pdf)

BC3 Working Papers & Policy Briefings

2023
[PB 2023-02] Evaluating adaptation: an analysis of policy progress in coastal cities and regions Marta Olazabal, William Lewis, Kayin Venner, María Ruiz de Gopegui Aramburu, Elisa Sainz de Murieta, Sascha Mahawelatanne Goonesekera, Ibon Galarraga
2021
[PB 2021-05] Learning how to learn: The experiences of 6 global cities in tracking urban adaptation William Lewis, Marta Olazabal
2019
[PB 2019 – 01] Planificación de la adaptación al cambio climático en las ciudades españolas: evaluando su sostenibilidad y efectividad a largo plazo Sanz, E., Olazabal,M. y Sainz de Murieta, E.
2018
[PB 2018 – 01] Are we on the right track? This is what we found when re-viewing climate policies in 885 European cities Marta Olazabal, Oliver Heidrich and Diana Reckien
2017
[2017-01] Towards successful adaptation: a checklist for the development of climate change adaptation plans Marta Olazabal, Ibon Galarraga, James Ford, Alexandra Lesnikowski and Elisa Sainz de Murieta
2016
[2016-04] Urban research at BC3: How climate change science can support urban policy making Marta Olazabal, Elisa Sainz de Murieta, Sébastien Foudi, Aline Chiabai, Ibon Galarraga, Stefano Balbi, Leif Vogel, Maria Victoria Román and Anil Markandya
[2016-03] Bridging Science and Policy to Mitigate and Adapt Cities to Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities in the Context of the Basque Declaration Marta Olazabal and Elisa Sainz de Murieta
2014
[2014-03] How are Italian and Spanish cities tackling climate change? A local comparative study Marta Olazabal, Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Eduardo Olazabal, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Monica Salvia, Davide Geneletti, Valentina D’Alonzo, Efrén Feliú, Senatro Di Leo and Diana Reckien
[2014-03] Ingredientes de una transición sostenible hacia una ciudad baja en carbono Marta Olazabal y Unai Pascual
[2014-02] Implications of governance structures on urban climate action: evidence from Italy and Spain Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Marta Olazabal, Monica Salvia, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Eduardo Olazabal, Davide Geneletti, Valentina D’Alonzo, Efrén Feliú, Senatro Di Leo and Diana Reckien
2013
[2013-11] Identifying social determinants of urban low carbon transitions: the case of energy transition in Bilbao, Basque Country Marta Olazabal and Unai Pascual

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