Personal profile
Short bio
My research focuses on impact evaluation of climate-neutral, sustainable, and smart cities. I have a 15-year research background in developing indicator frameworks to help cities set meaningful targets, optimise resource use, and assess the impacts of urban solutions. My work has been published in leading journals in the field and has been cited over 4200 times.
- Chair of "Monitoring & Evaluation" Task group (EU Smart Cities & Communities R&I programme) 2019-2024
- Subject Editor of journal IET Smart Cities (section City Indexes, Metrics, Comparisons, and Rankings: ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26317680) since 2022, Associate Editor 2021-2022
- Advisory Board Member of journal Ecological Indicators (sciencedirect.com/journal/ecological-indicators) since 2022
- Associate Editor of journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (section Innovation and Governance: frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities), Review Editor since 2023-2025
- Guest Editor and Editorial Board Member of journal Smart Cities (mdpi.com/journal/smartcities) since 2021
- Reviewer for 15 leading journals in the field
Education/Academic qualification
Engineering, Doctorate, Evaluation of smart AND sustainable city development: What indicators to use, why and when?, Aalto University, Department of Built Environment
1 Sept 2011 → 12 Apr 2024
Award Date: 22 Apr 2024
Science, Master, Evaluation of Workspace Performance with a Multi-Criteria Model Approach, Aalto University
1 Aug 2007 → 1 Oct 2010
Award Date: 20 Oct 2010
Mathematics and statistics, Bachelor, Applied mathematics and science, Université de Bordeaux
1 Sept 2004 → 30 Jun 2007
Award Date: 30 Jun 2007
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions -
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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KIRAilmasto-ohjelman vaikutustenarviointi
Lavikka, R. (Manager), Kuusisto, J. (Participant), Nikunen, T. (Participant), Vainio-Kaila, T. (Participant) & Huovila, A. (Participant)
17/11/25 → 31/07/26
Project: Finnish government project
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WeGenerate: Co-creating people-centric sustainable neighbourhoods through urban regeneration
Fatima, Z. (Manager), Kuusisto, J. (Participant), Huovila, A. (Participant), Tuominen, A. (Participant), Wallius, E. (Participant) & Uusitalo, T. (Participant)
1/11/23 → 31/10/27
Project: EU project
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SYNERGIES: Shaping consumer-inclusive data pathwaYs towards the eNERGy transItion, through a reference Energy data Space implementation
Kazi, S. (Manager), Kuusisto, J. (Participant), Kantorovitch, J. (Participant), Vesanen, T. (Participant) & Huovila, A. (Participant)
1/09/22 → 28/02/26
Project: EU project
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NetZeroCities: Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions by 2030
Hukkalainen, M. (Manager), Huovila, A. (Participant), Kantorovitch, J. (Participant), Tuominen, A. (Participant), Farzam Far, M. (Participant), Federley, M. (Participant), Kazi, S. (Participant), Fatima, Z. (Participant), Järnefelt, V. (Participant) & Kirppu, H. (Participant)
1/10/21 → 30/09/25
Project: Research
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SPARCs: Sustainable energy Positive & zero cARbon CommunitieS
Hukkalainen, M. (Manager), Reda, F. (Manager), Klobut, K. (Participant), Fatima, Z. (Participant), Piira, K. (Participant), Cronhjort, Y. (Participant), Ikonen, V. (Participant), Huovila, A. (Participant), Kazi, S. (Participant), Ranta, M. (Participant), Hajduk, P. (Participant), Abdurafikov, R. (Participant), Grönroos, E. (Participant), Laitinen, A. (Participant), Kirppu, H. (Participant), Ala-Juusela, M. (Participant) & Wallin, A. (Participant)
1/10/19 → 30/09/24
Project: EU project
Research output
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100 European Cities' Path to Climate Neutrality by 2030
Huovila, A. & Hukkalainen, M., 1 Jan 2025, In: IET Smart cities. 7, 1, e70017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Other journal contribution › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Corrigendum: Social smart city research: interconnections between participatory governance, data privacy, artificial intelligence and ethical sustainable development
Rasoulzadeh Aghdam, S., Babaeimorad, B., Ghasemzadeh, B., Irani, M. & Huovila, A., 2025, In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. 7, 1631538.Research output: Contribution to journal › Other journal contribution › Scientific
Open Access -
Towards solar-energy-assisted electric vehicle charging stations: A literature review on site selection with GIS and MCDM methods
Hisoglu, S., Çömert, R., Antila, M., Åman, R. & Huovila, A., Mar 2025, In: Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. 75, 104193.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)555 Downloads (Pure) -
Evaluation of Smart AND Sustainable City Development: What Indicators to Use, Why and When?
Huovila, A., 2 Apr 2024, Aalto University. 186 p.Research output: Thesis › Dissertation › Collection of Articles
Open Access -
Social smart city research: interconnections between participatory governance, data privacy, artificial intelligence and ethical sustainable development
Rasoulzadeh Aghdam, S., Babaeimorad, B., Ghasemzadeh, B., Irani, M. & Huovila, A., 2024, In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. 6, 1514040.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review
Open Access16 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
Activities
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Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Journal)
Huovila, A. (Editor)
7 Feb 2026 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial work
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External Examiner of a Ph.D. Thesis
Huovila, A. (Reviewer)
28 Jan 2026 → 2 Mar 2026Activity: Evaluation, assessment or examination types › Dissertation examiner or opponent
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Member of Doctoral Committee
Huovila, A. (Reviewer)
21 May 2024Activity: Evaluation, assessment or examination types › Dissertation examiner or opponent
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2nd EURECA-PRO Conference on Responsible Consumption and Production
Huovila, A. (Participant)
1 Aug 2022 → 22 Oct 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organising a conference, workshop, ... › Scientific or program committee
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Ecological Indicators (Journal)
Huovila, A. (Member of editorial board)
1 Jan 2022 → 31 Dec 2023Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial work
Press/Media
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Interview on future sustainable and smart cities
30/11/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Smart Cities Expert Aapo Huovila – Crucial Role of Collaborative Leadership
16/05/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Aapo Huovilan vieraskynä: Älykaupunkeihin tarvitaan kokonaisvaltaista vaikutustenarviointia
7/05/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Smart city: new indicators to measure the citizen response
28/05/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media