An integrated appRoach To improve the Environmental perforMance of smart cItieS

Project Information

ARTEMIS

Grant agreement ID: 101026073

DOI

10.3030/101026073

Project terminated on 31 March 2023

EC signature date 20 April 2021

Start date 6 September 2021

End date 5 September 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 171 473,28

EU contribution

€ 171 473,28

Coordinated by

ACCADEMIA EUROPEA DI BOLZANO
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ARTEMIS (An integrated appRoach To improve the Environmental perforMance of smart cItieS)

Reporting period: 2021-09-06 to 2023-09-05

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The smart city concept has received increased attention from researchers and decision-makers across the EU. However, there is a gap between smart city research & practice, and environmental sustainability: to date, smart city projects have not adequately assessed the environmental impacts of their strategies, which remain largely unknown. Research is needed to provide empirical evidence, advanced tools and metrics that can support the design, implementation and evaluation of smart city strategies to improve urban environmental sustainability.
ARTEMIS aimed at investigating whether and how the smart city can improve the environmental performance of urban systems. The research contributed to the development of an integrated environmental impact assessment framework, coupling urban metabolism and life-cycle assessment, that can support decision-making in smart city projects. An urban metabolism model was developed for the Autonomous Province of Trento and its capital city, in Italy, annual consumption in the city and in the region for thousands of product types.
ARTEMIS addressed issues related to climate change and environmental sustainability. The research and results can contribute to achieving the EU’s vision for climate neutral and smart cities and its aim of becoming a role model in sustainable development, as well as the goals set in the EU Green Deal and in the new Circular Economy Action Plan. The research findings, data and results are applicable to other projects, geographical areas and urban systems, to support the design and implementation of environmentally sustainable regional and urban development strategies.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The overall goal of ARTEMIS was to understand whether and how smart city strategies can effectively improve the environmental performance of urban systems. The work performed focused primarily on the development of a novel integrated environmental impact assessment framework for urban areas combining urban metabolism (UM) and life-cycle assessment (LCA), that can support decision- and policy-making toward smart and sustainable urban development. In this context, a UM model specifically developed for integration with LCA was developed for the region of Trentino (Autonomous Province of Trento) and its capital city, Trento. The UM model results have been published, detailed annual domestic material and product consumption in the city and in the region for thousands of product types. Drawing on the results of the UM model, the development of a life-cycle model to assess the environmental impacts of regional and urban consumption was started. In order to account for electricity use in the UM-LCA framework, the environmental impacts of electricity generation and supply in Italy were assessed in detail with a novel LCA framework that addressed a wide range of environmental impacts, with an average and marginal demand perspectives, for current and future energy generation, with an hourly resolution. The framework and assessment results were published in a scientific journal article. Lastly, framed within a MSC fellowship, the project foresaw a wide range of transfer-of-knowledge activities which were fully accomplished.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The integration of UM and LCA to develop an environmental impact assessment framework for regional and urban areas, with a cradle-to-grave perspective, was the most significant novelty and scientific advancement expected in the project, which was not completed in the reporting period. A UM model was performed for the Autonomous Province of Trento and its capital city, Trento, specifically developed for integration with LCA. Building on the UM model results, and in the domestic material consumption (DMC), a life-cycle model started being developed, to estimate environmental impacts associated with urban consumption.
To account for electricity use, the environmental impacts of electricity generation and supply in Italy were assessed in detail with a novel LCA framework that addressed a wide range of environmental impacts, with an average and marginal demand perspectives, for current and future energy generation, with an hourly resolution. A scientific article in a highly journal was published presenting this new framework and the application to Italy. The framework advances several relevant issues that are useful to support decision-making and research, in assessing environmental impacts of electricity use: it has high temporal resolution (hourly), includes current mix and future scenarios, and it provides average and marginal demand impacts for a wide range of environmental impacts.
The work addressed issues related to climate change and environmental sustainability. The research findings, data and results are accessible (with open access) and applicable to other projects, geographical areas and urban systems, to support the design and implementation of environmentally sustainable regional and urban development strategies. Communication and dissemination activities across different groups fostered the exploitation of results, and the fellowship enhanced cooperation and established a productive research network involving globally recognized institutions, improving communication, international and trans-disciplinary collaboration, which contributed to the EU’s competitiveness and growth in research and innovation.

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