Objectives

The proposal targets the improvement of technical tools for local administrations by integrating heat islands maps (ICU) based on surface temperatures (LST) obtained by satellite imagery processing and used by local administrations through the software systems provided by the coordinator (existing tools, purchased by the authorities prior to the project)  ICUS maps will be provided on an anual and seasonal scale, as well as for extreme weather contexts.  The proposed tools should prove an usefull technical support mechanism that wiill contribute to the decision-making processes in terms of ICU effects reduction for existing and future urban perimeters.  After implementing the project, considering the generl context of climate change, decision makers will have at their disposal a tool that empowers them to plan and design cities so to increase the urban quality of life, according to international găăd practices and policies.
Most of the system components for ICU have been tested in the UBB labs.  After reviewing literature, the calculus algorithms have been tested through existing software apps and validated in semiautomated workflows.
The targeted TRL is 6 – development of a prototyping platform for algorithms interconnection and data processing.  Testing will be performed on a complex urban system.  The infrastructure for testing will be provided by Indeco Soft and Creative Space, corelations will target a major municipality (paying customers of the company) in order for the system to validate technical and procedural requirements and simulate real, functional, operational and commercial implementations.

INTEGRATE aims to improve the technical means of local public administration already existing in municipalities by integrating maps of the island of surface heat (ICUS) detected based on surface temperature (LST) extracted from satellite images in computer systems used in public administration carried out by the project coordinator (CO) and provided to a consistent portfolio of clients to date. Within the project, ICUS maps for the “static” version based on historical data, but also the dynamic one that involves near-real time integration of ICUS maps will be made at a very good spatial resolution (30 m x 30 m, exploring the possibility of growth up to 15 m x 15 m) and will be integrated into the GIS system of the CO for a pilot city for which both versions will be tested. Maps based on historical information will be made on an annual and seasonal basis, but to increase the accuracy in detecting the extent and intensity of ICUS, situations with extreme weather events (eg heat waves) will be analyzed, depending on the availability of satellite data. The proposed new instrument, used as technical support, will prove extremely useful and will contribute to making appropriate decisions regarding the reduction of the ICUS effect, both in the case of the existing urban area (eg through thermal / energy rehabilitation programs), as well as in the situation of expanding the urban area in the future. Thus, following the implementation of the proposed project, in the context of current climate change and in full agreement with the European Ecological Pact, decision makers will have an external tool useful for planning actions at the municipal level (Pop et al. 2019), to reduce ICUS, respectively to increase the quality of life. So,
• the “static” component of the application, by identifying hot-spot areas based on historical information, will allow: choosing locations for the installation of first aid points in the city in case of extreme weather events (eg heat waves that are intensified in urban areas through the existence of ICU) (short-term action), identification of the types of urban fabric that generate hot-spot areas and not to be replicated in the further development of the city (long-term action).
• the “dynamic” component of the system (near-real time integration) will allow local authorities to apply tactical urbanism actions. Thus, by analyzing successive pre- and post-implementation ICUS maps, it is possible to highlight the effect of measures implemented in the short and medium term to reduce hot-spot areas inside the locality: for example, wetting an area (simulation of an artesian well) , the re-routing for a certain period of time of some urban transport lines (or the use on those lines exclusively / mainly of the electric buses, more and more purchased in the Romanian cities in the last years) or the location of some “artificial” green spaces (simulation of the replacement of some asphalt / concrete spaces with real green spaces). The successive ICUS maps show the difference between the situation before and after the “temporary” action, thus allowing a decision to be taken whether or not to implement that action permanently.
The decrease of the intensity / extension of the hot-spot areas leads to the increase of the quality of life in the urban environment by decreasing the thermal stress from the warm semester of the year, generating chain effects due to the impact on human health (Croitoru et al., 2018) and diminishing the work capacity of the population (Herbel et al., 2018) and is a strong argument for making and prioritizing such investments at the level of a municipality, following the practices of other urban areas at the international level (Moreland, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Northeast US Urban Archipelago etc.).
The static component will be delivered only once while the dynamic component will be delivered to subscribers on a subscription basis. The product can be marketed both to municipalities in urban areas and to local authorities in the communes located in the neighboring (metropolitan) areas of large cities that have had a consistent territorial expansion in recent years.

General objective

This project proposal aims to enhance the technical tools of the local public administration by integrating the maps of the urban heat island (ICU) detected on the basis of the surface temperature (LST) extracted from the satellite images in the IT systems used at the level of the local public administration (realization of the project coordinator and provided to the beneficiary before the implementation of this project proposal).

 

Specific objectives

OS1. Identification of the study area

A1.1. EO-based database of imagery regarding urban expansion for relevant customer municipalities;

A1.2. Built areas analysis;

A1.3. Consulting local administrations for choosing the pilot-site;

A1.4. Choice a pilot-city

 

OS2. ICU analysis for the pilot site

A2.1. EO data download and pre-processing for analysis;

A2.2. ICUS identification based on satelite imagery and field validation;

A2.3. Seasonal ICUS patterns identification for the pilot city;

A2.4. Research on Sentinel 2 indices to be correlated with validated Landsat LST, to increase spatial resolution;

A2.5. Identification of urban tissues generating hotspots and coldspots;

A2.6. Proposals for the reduction of hotspots and coldspots for the pilot city.

 

OS3. Integration of seasonal ICUS maps as a feature in the urban GIS solution provided by the project coordinator.  

A3.1. Industrial research for automated data processing;

A3.2. LST data and algorithms integration in the GIS tool provided by the coordinator;

A3.3. Generalization of algorithms for replicability.

 

OS4. Near-real-time ICUS component development

A4.1. Industrialmresearch for integrating the results of A3.2 and A3.3 îin the coordinator’s GIS solution (historical data)

A4.2. Industrial research for near-real-time service delivery for recurring usage.  

 

OS5. Dissemination and product presentationsproject website delivery and updates

A5.1. Crearea şi actualizarea periodică a websiteului proiectului

A5.2. Participation in workshops and scientific conferences

A5.3. Scientific articles publication

A5.4. Radio/tv participation

A5.5. Workshop to present the product

Project Gantt Chart

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