Innovation

LIFE URBANGREEN PROJECT

An innovative technological platform to provide improved management of green areas for better climate adaptation in urban areas

Nearly 4 out of every 5 European citizens live in cities and their quality of life depends largely on the quality of the urban environment. At the same time, urban areas in Europe have to deal with a large number of environmental issues. Although the scale and intensity of the problems varies from city to city, common pressures can be identified, including poor air quality, high levels of ambient noise, climate change and the related need for adaptation, lack of sports and play areas and general low quality of green areas. All these issues constitute real environmental challenges and result in significant impacts on the quality of life in cities and their economic performance. Urban green areas play an important role in improving cities' resilience. They cannot be simply considered as aesthetic elements anymore, but as a real service to citizens and living allies in the fight to regulate urban climates and mitigate climate change.

In this context, LIFE URBANGREEN aims to leverage the innovative technological platform GreenSpaces to improve management of green areas in 2 European cities. The platform, based on GIS technologies, has been developed by R3GIS. It integrates assessment of ecosystem services provided by urban green areas, a water management tool, optimization of routes for maintenance work, an environmental monitoring system with IoT technology and remote sensing data, and public participation tools.

LIFE URBANGREEN aims to demonstrate that an increase in attention to the management of green infrastructure results in increased ecosystem services, and therefore, more ecological and economic benefits for citizens. The ultimate objective is to allow cities to better respond to climate changes.

The LIFE URBANGREEN project shares knowledge on the value of urban green areas with citizens. Check out the public portals:

Public Portal of Rimini Public Portal of Krakow

Name: LIFE URBANGREEN LIFE17 CCA/IT/000079

Financing programme: LIFE

Project partners: R3GIS (Lead Partner), University of Milan, ProGea 4D, Anthea, ZZM

Duration: 07/2018 - 12/2021

For more information on the LIFE URBANGREEN project and the latest updates, visit www.lifeurbangreen.eu.