The living university: Building a self-sufficient environment at the Polytechnic University of Madrid’s (UPM) South Campus, mixing nature-based solutions with other innovative technologies

The time to reduce the carbon footprint and reverse the effects of climate change to adequate levels for the world population is running out. Climate change is a global problem that must be tackled in a localized way, making use of the systemic capabilities of territories. The problems of anthropocentrism and the solutions to these are varied, many known for decades. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest ecosystem pressure concerning the management of its water resources. Inadequate management for centuries, also from land resources, whether for agriculture or housing, places the country at high risk of desertification nowadays. These problems affect more than half of the country, including the Autonomous Community of Madrid and its capital city. This thesis focuses on analyzing the capabilities of nature-based solutions (NBS) in conjunction with technological innovation solutions to reduce the carbon footprint and achieve long-term adaptation, increasing the resilience of localized areas for them to work in synergy with higher levels of the ecosystem. Specifically, the application of the solutions in the building of the Higher Technical School of Engineers in Topography, Geodesy and Cartography of the Polytechnic University of Madrid has been analyzed in terms of the services resulting from both NBS and technologies