Use-Case Environment

Use-Case Environment

The use-case environment of the Aveiro STEAM City project is focused on the assessment of the air quality of the city of Aveiro. Different methodologies and outcomes are part of the project, namely:

- the evaluation of the urban microclimate, air quality and noise based on modelling and monitoring;

- an environmental map of the city to be provided to citizens, decision makers and researchers;

- the impact and co-benefits of road traffic planning, including citizens’ exposure to air pollution, health effects and the costs of improvement measures;

- the contribution to the development of innovative tools to disseminate air quality alert systems to citizens and decision makers.

The first phase of the project implied the installation of the monitoring air quality, noise and meteorological network, in the framework of the STEAM City's 5G technology and infrastructure.  The monitoring networks is composed by 9 air quality stations equipped with microsensors, 9 noise stations and 2 weather stations installed at different locations in the city (Figure 1).  Measured data will be delivered, in real time, to a platform managed by the municipality of Aveiro.

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Figure 1 – Air quality equipment location in the city of Aveiro.

This network is able to represent the main characteristics of the city of Aveiro and responds to the contents of the Air Quality Framework Directive, which specifies what pollutants should be measured to protect human health, namely suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ground-level ozone (O3). In addition, carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide CO2 are also measured..

The following figures show some details of the installed equipment.

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Currently, all stations are installed and soon the data will start to be sent to the online STEAM platform. Users will easily (and friendly) obtain useful information about the environmental characteristics of Aveiro.

In a second phase, the air quality will be also characterized using numerical air quality models, which will allow to simulate transport policies scenarios and to understand their impact in the air quality and the citizens health.

Both, monitoring and modelling data will be the basis for an environmental map of the city to be developed taking into consideration the guidelines of ISO 37120: 2018, in particular the environment and climate change indicator.