Data-driven cities could help tackle climate change

An EU-funded project offers solutions and tools to make environmental and climate data accessible, focusing on areas where the effects of climate change are most strongly felt – cities.

Climate Change and Environment

The EU-funded USAGE project, which is supported by the EU, is all about helping cities make better choices to be friendly to our planet. It focuses on important topics like climate change, keeping our air clean, and protecting plants and animals. By using special data that is easy to find, share, and use, it helps city leaders understand how to solve these problems. “We want to help smaller cities in Europe by giving them tools to work on the Green Deal,” says Oscar Corcho, who leads the project. “These tools help cities gather and use data in smart ways, so they can make good decisions that help the environment and plan for the future.” They are trying out their ideas in four different cities: Ferrara in Italy, Zaragoza in Spain, Leuven in Belgium, and Graz in Austria. Each city has its own unique challenges, like dealing with heat, preventing floods, cleaning the air, and taking care of nature.

Using cool technology to help the environment

The USAGE project uses advanced tools to gather important information about cities. Images taken from specialised flights are really helpful because they take detailed pictures and help scientists understand the environment better. For example, the data captured in these flights allows checking hot areas inside the cities. They can also help figure out what kinds of trees are in a place and how healthy they are. Satellites give a bigger view of cities to help monitor different issues. They can find places that are too hot and suggest where to make it cooler. These tools can also help cities choose the best spots for plants and solar panels.

Organising and sharing data

USAGE has made a special online catalogue that helps cities keep track of all their important information. This catalogue helps cities manage their data and follow rules for sharing it. It also makes sure that everything is ready for new technologies like AI.

Using data to build better cities

Cities are key to solving many problems we face today with the economy, the environment, and society. To do this, they need to use data to create smart plans, like Local Green Deals, which are ways to improve the environment. By using solid data, cities can make choices that really help change things for the better. “We want to help city leaders, workers, and everyday people learn how to use this information,” says Corcho. “By using what we learned from the USAGE project, we can give them the training and tools they need to make positive changes in their cities!”