{"id":461797,"date":"2023-11-10T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=461797"},"modified":"2023-11-10T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T05:30:00","slug":"paint-the-town-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/paint-the-town-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Paint the town green"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With her song \u201cPaint the Town Red,\u201d Doja Cat made it to the top of the world\u2019s music charts. The truth is cities would rather use a layer of green, with more trees and building-integrated vegetation, to reduce the urban island effect. In the <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\">series<\/a> \u201cEurope Battling the Heat\u201d, we extensively covered the problem, as last summer broke previous heat records. In light of the problem\u2019s urgency, the quest for new solutions remains a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>ENEA researchers investigated the impact of green building infrastructure to mitigate the urban island effect.<\/li><li>These could bring down the temperature of some areas of Rome and Turin by one Celsius degree. <\/li><li>While these infrastructures have an effect, comprehensive design can more effectively lower down urban temperatures. <\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A group of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enea.it\/en\/\">ENEA<\/a> researchers \u2013 ENEA is the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development \u2013 studied the effects of widespread roofs and walls covered with vegetation, noticing how they can reduce urban temperatures by over one degree Celsius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Browsing through different Italian cities, the scientists selected Rome and Turin, as they noticed an urban heat island effect with peaks worth over four degrees Celsius. Simply put, the air temperature in those urban areas was four degrees Celsius hotter than in close rural areas. The next step was simulating what would have happened if, on a defined summer day, those areas would be extensively covered with green roofs and green walls. In the best-case scenario, they could sensibly bring down air temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe worked on different scenarios, noticing the impact such infrastructure could have. Cities are warming faster than rural areas, at double the speed of global warming. Moreover, this phenomenon also fosters inequalities, with the poorest groups suffering the most,\u201d told Innovation Origins ENEA researcher Tiziana Susca. She worked on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0378778823004632\">study<\/a> alongside fellow researchers Fabio Zanghirella and Vincenzo Del Fatto.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-95ed6b68\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/how-digital-twins-can-help-turning-an-urban-oven-into-an-oasis\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"How digital twins can help turning an urban oven into an oasis\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">How digital twins can help turning an urban oven into an oasis<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">It\u2019s all over the news: Urban areas tend to become extremely hot these days. To properly cool down our cities, \u201cwe need digital twins in the early stages of city planning\u201d, says Stefan Trometer, Managing Director at Virtual City Systems.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Breaking a vicious cycle <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Green roofs and walls proved to have a tangible impact on the neighborhoods, and interesting conclusions could be drawn. \u201cFor instance, green roofs on over twenty-meter tall buildings have no urban heat island adaptation effect. However, they still make a difference in reducing the building&#8217;s indoor temperature, reducing the need and costs related to air conditioning,\u201d explains Susca.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With AC being the go-to solution for battling heat \u2013 but not for low-income populations \u2013 curtailing its usage means more than saving energy. \u201cIf the urban island effect isn\u2019t properly mitigated, AC&nbsp; use will surge, meaning that more exhaust heat will be emitted in the streets, making things even worse,\u201c underscores Susca. In a way, green infrastructure can help break this vicious cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"io-block io-block__expanded-box\"><summary class=\"expanded-box__header\">What are green roofs? <\/summary><div>  <p class=\"expanded-box__content\">Two main kinds of green roofs exist: extensive and intensive, and they fit different application cases. Extensive green roofs feature a substrate ten to twenty centimeters deep, while intensive ones can reach a meter and a half depth. Therefore, intensive roofs can fit up to five meters tall trees, while extensive ones can accommodate shrubs and small vegetation.\u00a0<br><br>However, intensive roofs can\u2019t be used for retrofitting existing buildings because the whole dwelling structure wasn\u2019t originally designed to bear their weight \u2013 think of the tens of cubic meters of soil to support tree growth. They are rather an option for new constructions, while extensive roofs can be used to retrofit existing buildings.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cooling down urban canyons&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The ENEA researchers cohort also studied the potential of green walls\u2019. A green wall is a general definition of walls featuring greenery of any sort, including green fa\u00e7ades and living walls. The plants of a green fa\u00e7ade have their roots in the ground, as creeper plants do. In a living wall, plants grow on a vertical living substrate attached to the wall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe noticed that positioning green walls in urban canyons, parallel to the main wind direction, results in a higher cooling effect,\u201d underlines Susca. Crucially, green walls can be instrumental in bringing down the temperatures of urban canyons. These are corridors of long, narrow streets flanked by tall buildings on both sides. Examples of urban canyons are 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York, and Kowloon Street in Hong Kong. These canyons affect the movement and the direction of the wind, impacting the surrounding environment, such as up to four degrees Celsius temperature increase.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"461798\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/florian-wehde-DpgujuZ92zE-unsplash-669x1004.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-461798\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"461799\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/42nd_Street_from_Park_Avenue_looking_west_Manhattan_New_York-753x1004.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-461799\"\/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">On the left, a view of Hong Kong city center and on the right Manhattan&#8217;s 42nd street &#8211; \u00a9 Unsplash, Florian Wehde and Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Foresight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the research takeaways was that one or a few buildings featuring integrated vegetation don\u2019t make a difference, while a wider and structured city design does. Susca firmly believes that a comprehensive design approach must be enacted, integrating different solutions to mitigate the urban island effect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Susca: \u201cThe first step is providing decision-makers with information. Saying that there is no knowledge about the urban heat island phenomenon doesn\u2019t work anymore. Integrated vegetation technology is one of the many solutions and one that can result in more positive effects. For example, green roofs also improve rainwater management and urban ecosystems. But they aren\u2019t the only solution that needs to be put into place to reshape cities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researcher hints at converting residual urban spaces into green areas, improving urban albedo \u2013 the urban surface&#8217;s ability to reflect solar irradiation \u2013 and finding more room for water on the street level. \u201cUndoubtedly, these actions come with the need for investments. We need a long-term vision, overarching political turnover, and foresight to look at what will happen twenty years from now to try to prevent as much as we can the problems that can arise,\u201d she warns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-d062be4a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/fake-trees-reflective-asphalt-building-climate-proof-cities-with-these-creative-solutions\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Fake trees, reflective asphalt: Building climate-proof cities with these creative solutions\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Fake trees, reflective asphalt: Building climate-proof cities with these creative solutions<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Similar to floods and droughts, heat stress is a major challenge to deal with in climate adaptation. Heat records are being broken every year in Europe.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Steps forward&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the globe, new standards are being put into place to foster the adoption of green infrastructure. An example comes from New York. In 2019, the city council passed a suite of laws to reduce greenhouse gases, also including a requirement for green roofs or solar panels on new buildings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a research group, we\u2019d like to see our work help Italy move towards that direction,\u201d says Susca. Meanwhile, ENEA is willing to help municipalities use its expertise and paint Italian cities green.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With her song \u201cPaint the Town Red,\u201d Doja Cat made it to the top of the world\u2019s music charts. The truth is cities would rather use a layer of green, with more trees and building-integrated vegetation, to reduce the urban island effect. In the series \u201cEurope Battling the Heat\u201d, we extensively covered the problem, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":493445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[79689],"tags":[61571,81917,81920,81922],"location":[47626],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-461797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-battling-the-heat","tag-enea","tag-green-walls","tag-urban-heat-islands-2","tag-urban-planning-5","location-italy","article_type-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Green roofs and walls can cool cities by up to one degree Celsius in summer, new research by ENEA shows. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/innovationorigins_an_abstract_illustration_of_Rome_buildings_wi_ec7adb0e-e083-42b0-9f4c-ac5b488ba0ac.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Europe battling the heat<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Europe battling the heat<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Enea<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">green walls<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">urban heat islands<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/europe-battling-the-heat\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">urban planning<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Enea<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">green walls<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">urban heat islands<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">urban planning<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 10, 2023","modified":"Updated on November 10, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 10, 2023 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on November 10, 2023 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=461797"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=461797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}