Experimental Monitoring of the Benefits of the Parks on the Microclimate and the Ozone

The Municipality of Reggio Emilia, in collaboration with Arpae and in synergy with the European H2020 project iSCAPE (“Improving the Smart Control of Air Pollution in Europe”) throughout the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna (UNIBO), is carrying out an experimental study within the European LIFE project “UrbanProof” on adaptation to climate change. The objective is to define the contribution of trees and green areas in urban environment to climate mitigation and the removal of some pollutants, such as ozone and nitrogen oxides. The experimental project takes place in July 2018 thanks to the simultaneous use of two mobile laboratories and two fixed stations of the air quality monitoring network, located in four different points of the city:

1. urban park - wide shading (Parco del Popolo)

2. urban park - sun exposure (Campus San Lazzaro)

3. urbanized pedestrian area - sun exposure (Piazza della Vittoria)

4. Congested urban area - high sun exposure (V.le Timavo)

UNIBO will contribute providing high frequency measurements of wind velocity, temperature, pressure and solar radiation to evaluate the impact of local scale atmospheric processes on pollutant concentration and transport in different environments. In particular, correlated with the iSCAPE project, the experimental study carried out aims at establishing the role of vegetation in modifying ventilation and thermal processes, key factors of pollutant mitigation and human comfort.

This experimentation will allow to evaluate the possible differences of impact on the microclimatic conditions and absorption of pollutants in the different areas, in order to better planning in the future, the choice of the composition and the location of the green areas in the city.

Useful links
urbanproof.eu
www.arpae
www.comune.re.it
www.iscapeproject.eu www.fisica-astronomia.unibo.it

(web page within the Municipality of Reggio Emilia web site:
www.comune.re.it