Pollution and climate changes. Feedback from space for sustainable cities and communities

Cities represent more than 50% of global population and are the main responsible of energy consumption in the world, accounting for more than 70% of CO² emissions deriving especially from energy and transportation sectors (Global Covenant of Mayors, 018). At the same time, also cities are negatively affected by Climate Change in terms of infrastructure, economy (e.g. agriculture), public services, urban planning and food security, all crucial dimensions for sustainable development. In this scenario, urban planners and policy makers are called to identify innovative solution against crucial challenges related to the evolution of city and environment planning and management. Based on the City Sensing [1, pp. 10-13] approach, the aim of this thesis is to identify innovative technological approach that can support citizens to monitor the level the air pollutants and carbon emissions through the interrelation of Copernicus satellites, big data and cognitive techniques, in order to improve inclusive and sustainable urbanization and management of human settlements. Satellites can help cities to become more resilient to climate change in terms of • prevention of climate change through the development of risk management plans based on satellite data series • adaptation to climate change thanks to the issue of ad hoc policies and interventions for each city • communication of climate change in order to develop an informed decision making which foresees in climate change an opportunity rather than a risk. The project will present how the combination of different technologies such as satellites, sensors, the internet drives the development of a new model of knowledge based on distributed acquisition of information whose combination with other already available data, provide a detailed, real time, dynamic and accessible framework for planning the future of a city. Moreover, the crystallization of these information within recorded blocks of blockchain can even create ‘shared value’ where certified data related to emissions and pollutants are associated with an economic value and resold on the market, in line with the carbon crediting system. In this way the pollutants stop being a problem to become for the cities and start being a solution.