Welcome to the ECOCITY 2022 Interactive Programme

Abstract Body

It is now widely recognised that sustainable urban planning and development must take the outdoor thermal comfort of city dwellers into consideration. One of the most important bioclimatic design elements for thermal comfort is greenspace. Relatively few studies have explored the potential of mobile thermal comfort measuring methods, despite the benefit of improved spatial coverage that they offer. In the present study, we collect averaged microclimate data from transects within a large number of sites. We demonstrate how local physical characteristics of the sites; Sky View Factor (SVF), tree shade, surface cover, and canyon effect, contribute to human exposure to potentially uncomfortable thermal conditions as expressed via thermal comfort indices (Universal Thermal Climate Index, UTCI). A total of 126 sites were visited in the hot summer of 2020, of which 79 were green. Varying levels of SVF and tree cover in the sites allowed the construction of multivariate models which revealed that decreases of SVF by 12.5 % and increases of tree cover by 25 % can reduce the UTCI by 1 degree. Such quantitative relationships may prove useful for practitioners aiming to improve the thermal comfort of outdoor spaces. The only sites reaching comfortable UTCI categories were streets with trees and public gardens.The mobile methodology has proved useful for investigating a large number of sites from the point of view of the pedestrians that use those spaces, and future studies could benefit from application and modification of this approach.

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Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized for their potential to help address societal challenges imposed by climate change, decreasing environmental quality and threats to human health. Quantitative assessments are essential to evaluate the extent to which NbS actually deliver on this promise. Although there is a growing body of such assessments, these are typically geographically bound or spatially restricted (e.g., single city, neighbourhood or street). We aimed to assess the potential of urban NbS to address various societal challenges across all major European cities.

To evaluate the potential of urban NbS, we applied a scenario-bases modelling approach. First, we envisaged potential positive futures for European cities, differing in the types, amount and locations of urban NbS (e.g. planting additional trees along streets or creating new green areas in residential areas). We then quantified the consequences of these scenarios for the delivery of several benefits of NbS (e.g. air cooling during a heatwave, water retention during peak rainfall, contribution to health and well-being) in 775 major European cities.

In this presentation we will share the results of our large-scale assessment, focusing on the distribution of urban NbS benefits across the 775 European urban areas for both the current situation and the scenarios. The scenario-based approach enabled us to evaluate potential benefits of mainstreaming nature into future urban planning and can contribute to ongoing debate regarding urban sustainability.

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Urban heat island (UHI) effects have received serious attention globally due to their detrimental impacts on human and environmental health. These effects are noticeable in cities where natural land cover have been replaced with impervious surfaces, buildings and urban infrastructure, thereby increasing the micro-climate changes due to temperature increase. This paper seeks to analyse the UHI effect in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria with the view to recommending green infrastructure to mitigate its impact in the light of rapid urbanization rates. The study assessed and analyzed the UHI factors of the case study using periodical air temperature data and multi-temporal Landsat imageries to generate NDVI maps for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. These were used to analyze the land surface temperature (LST) and land use/land cover of the study area over the period considered. Built-up areas have significantly increased from 9.4% in 1990 to 32.53% in 2020 thereby bringing about a significant loss of green land cover. Variations and increased temperature from the thermal reflection of each land use and land cover in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos are also noticeable. This affirms that continuous conversion of natural land cover to other uses contributes significantly to the overall surface temperature in Ibeju Lekki. This study, therefore, recommends the provision of green infrastructures such as urban tree canopy, parks, open spaces and ecological landscaping to mitigate the surface temperature of Ibeju Lekki, thus alleviating health problems and hazards that often accompany temperature increases.

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The disclosed study focuses upon a ‘human centred-approach’ to evaluate thermophysiological risk factors associated to urban climatic conditions within the case of Ankara, Turkey. In an era where climate change is already aggravating urban thermal comfort levels, the frequency and durability of Extreme Heat Events (EHEs) are also presenting clear impacts upon urban heat-related mortality and morbidity rates. For this reason, and associated to an on-going national project funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), the study shall present its on-going results that address human thermophysiological thresholds in Ankara within indoor and outdoor settings. The ensuing outcomes are a result of a combination of both singular variables, and Energy Balance Model indices that moreover consider wholesome bottom-up implications upon the human biometeorological system. Such conclusions thus far point towards specific risk factors intrinsic to Ankara’s versatile climate, both within selected characteristic vulnerable indoor settings, and their more encompassing urban outdoor microclimatic conditions.

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For the past 100 years, social housing projects have been built in The Netherlands in several ‘waves’. During some of these ‘waves’ there were particular ideas how to develop the green spaces around the social housing, while in other periods simply developing large amounts of houses fast was the main priority. Despite the good intentions with which these urban areas were once built, they have been under economic, social and environmental stress. Next to having income issues, their residents suffer from education deficits and physical and mental diseases. Also, at building, plot and street level social housing lacks key conditions to deal with the upcoming challenges of climate change. The already vulnerable residents of social housing will therefore be exposed to heat waves even more than average and with this the environmental inequity in cities will grow. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can play a role to reverse these trends. In the Dutch ‘Pleasant Green Living’ project, the goal is to explore how NBS can fit within the physical, social, organizational and financial circumstances that define social housing practice. The project has set up NBS living labs in social housing blocks in the city of The Hague. Researchers, students, housing associations, landscaping firms, and the municipality worked together to upgrade inner gardens in three social housing blocks. With interviews and field visits current liveability issues were identified and used to develop more resilient designs of the inner gardens. We learnt that NBS are only going to contribute to people’s health if they are actively involved in the design, use and maintenance of their green spaces. To realize their involvement, housing corporations need to invest in trust and social relations. New designs developed by the students were received enthusiastically by residents and the relevant housing association and incorporated in their short term landscaping plans.