Tecnalia – Generation of convenient itineraries in the urban environment in the face of extreme temperatures and heat waves
Tecnalia
Sector: Administration
Business Case
Cities need to take actions to help them adapt to climate change, including ensuring the thermal comfort of citizens and, in particular, of those who are most vulnerable to extreme temperature events and heat waves. Climate refuges, as convenient areas, and the availability to access them through convenient itineraries are essential to address some of the challenges posed by city council adaptation plans, such as the reduction of morbidity and mortality in their territory.
Objectives
The objective was to design a network of convenient itineraries that allow access to potential climate shelters in urban areas, so that the inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable people, can cope with possible episodes of extreme temperatures and heat waves, thus contributing to their safety and comfort.
Use case
AI (intelligent optimisation) algorithms have been explored, adapted and applied to generate a network of convenient itineraries. The cost function, which determines how much it costs to cross a street, has been adapted so that the routing algorithm has been forced to take into account both detailed information at the municipal scale and certain thermal comfort or other urban criteria of interest to a city government.
Infrastructure
Cloud
Technology
Automatic or Deep Learning
Data
Town/city council data: General Urban Zoning Plan (PGOU), urban green infrastructure, urban trees, urban furniture (benches, fountains), areas vulnerable to climate risk, etc. Public datasets: OSM
Resources
Participation of Tecnalia technical experts: in AI, urban climate and adaptation to climate change. Participation of city council technical officers whose roles involve the urban and natural environment.
Difficulties and learning
Required adaptation of public datasets (OSM) Availability of city council information with sufficient detail
KPIs (business impact and metrics of the model)
The network of convenient itineraries allows city dwellers to know which are the best ways to reach on foot possible nearby urban climate shelters, especially from those areas of the city that are more vulnerable to episodes of extreme temperatures and heat waves. It also provides useful information to identify possible interventions necessary for the improvement of public spaces that are part of the network; to identify other potential areas that are not yet part of the network, but that could be included in the future; to plan convenient itineraries optimising a uniform appearance of urban infrastructure to set up the route (benches, fountains, trees, etc.) and combining walking with other modes of transportation, etc.
Funding
Funded with a grant from the “Local Climate Eco-innovation Grants” (IHOBE/Basque Government, 2021) and own funds.
Collaborators, Partners
Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council and IHOBE (Basque Government)
