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Decision Toolbox for cities to improve air quality, biodiversity, human wellbeing and reduce climate risks by planting more trees in our cities

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

Decision toolbox and new business models to encourage tree planting in cities

Urban heat, air pollution, noisy surroundings and too much concrete make modern cities vulnerable in a changing climate. Planting more trees in the urban fabric is regarded as a simple solution to help solve these issues. In this context, the EU-funded 100KTREEs project will map the existing trees and build a solid business case for planting new trees, as well as attract third-party sponsorships to make it happen. Its mapping and modelling toolbox will optimise the planting of trees and monitor their health using Copernicus and in situ data. It will also assign monetary value to key attributes of a tree, such as pollution absorption, cooling effect, noise abatement, flood risk reduction and increased biodiversity. Sofia and Copenhagen will act as pilot cities.

Objective

Most of us live in cities, even though cities are not the healthiest places due to poor air quality, noisy surroundings and lack of recreational spaces. Many cities have few green areas and consist of too much ‘concrete jungle’ which makes for a harsh environment for all living things. With the changing climate, the weather is expected to become more extreme. One such effect will be urban heat islands, which will be even more profound, with heatwaves expected to increase 3 to 10-fold by 20801 depending on the climate scenario. A way of tackling all these issues, is to plant more trees within the urban fabric - a well-recognised, and relatively cheap and efficient measure for cities to adapt to future climatic challenges. In view of this, the ambition of 100KTREEs is to make cities a better and healthier place to live by encouraging municipalities to plant more trees and to optimise the impact of tree planting. The team will support cities by mapping the existing trees and by showing a solid business case for planting new trees, as well as attracting third party sponsorship to make it happen. We need to plant trees now to allow our children to enjoy their shade in 20 years’ time. 100KTREEs will develop a mapping and modelling toolbox to optimise the planting of trees and to monitor the health of the trees, based on Copernicus and in-situ data. By assigning monetary value to the key attributes of a tree, e.g. pollution absorption, cooling effect, noise abatement, flood risk reduction and increased biodiversity, a number of business cases will be developed for our two partner cities, Copenhagen and Sofia. Such business cases will also be used to attract third party financing. By means of a crowd science app we will engage with citizens and create awareness of the wonders of trees, also extending to improved life quality and mental health impacts.

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Call for proposal

HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE

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Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

Coordinator

DHI A/S
Net EU contribution
€ 355 250,00
Address
AGERN ALLE 5
2970 Hoersholm
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Nordsjælland
Activity type
Other
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Total cost
€ 355 250,00

Participants (10)

Partners (1)

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Last update: 29 November 2022

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101082551

European Union, 2024