1. Advanced technology for smart urban green infrastructure
Session summary:
Urban green infrastructure is considered one of the most efficient approaches to addressing urban societal challenges. However, to reach their full potential, there is a real need for a paradigm shift from planning and experiments at small-scale to large-scale urban projects, bridging the nature–technology gap. The data, methods and tools used in urban green infrastructure evaluation should be better integrated with the use of technology in the urban planning, management and design processes.
The session aims at representing a debate forum helping scientists, public administration, private companies and other stakeholders to engage in changes of experiences regarding the use of advanced technology to plan, design and implement smart urban green infrastructures through earth observation as a tool for achieving urban sustainability. We welcome theoretical and applied contributions, regardless of the scale of approach, presenting relevant results for advancing the knowledge by using remote sensing, machine learning, sensors and other advanced technologies in conducting better analysis of urban green infrastructure.
2. Focus on urban climate and air quality using remote sensing
Session summary:
Cities worldwide face various environmental challenges, including air pollution and climate changes, exacerbated by unsustainable urban development. These perturbations contribute to the destruction and degradation of natural systems, with direct and indirect impacts on human health.
There is an increasing abundance of meteorological, air quality and ancillary data currently available for research and applications in urban environments. Local and national institutions’ data (i.e., national and local monitoring networks, private data) are completed with data from a wide range of satellite products. There is an ongoing development process of using remote sensing to understand urban climate and air quality at various urban spatial scales.
The session offers an excellent framework to present the results of various research related to the use of earth observation in enhancing the understanding of urban climate and air quality in different urban settings.