Beyond creating a serene and open atmosphere in urban areas, trees and parks also contribute to human well-being. There are various reasons for this: trees filter pollutants out of the air, provide shade, lower the ambient temperature in hot weather and encourage people to spend more time outdoors. Many governments have set ambitious tree-planting targets…
On Strossmayer Square in Prague 7, the Technical Road Administration (TSK) has started planting 17 Julian alder trees, selected for their resilience to man-made climate change. I spoke with Katarína Svitková, Associate Research Fellow at the EUROPEUM Institute, about this project as a case study for what Czechia can do differently to combat extreme weather…
Temperatures in cities are rising across the globe and urban heat stress is already a major problem causing illness, death, a surge in energy use to cool buildings down, heat-related social inequality issues and problems with urban infrastructure. Some cities have already started implementing mitigation strategies, with tree planting prominent among them. But a University…
With house building a priority for the new UK Government, researchers at the University of Surrey are urging city planners not to forget to build “greening areas” such as parks in new communities. Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), working with 30 co-authors from seven countries, found that parks may be the most…
The depletion of conventional fossil fuel supplies and the growing global population necessitate a significant reduction in energy use and harmful emissions. High sun radiation in the Mediterranean region increases summer overheating, and results in increasing energy expenditures and building emissions. But, this also presents an opportunity for solar energy systems, as building designers see…
Rooftop restaurants in Athens hope that when you’re not eating or talking that you’ll be okay with a view of the Acropolis, if there is one, because otherwise all there is to see is a sea of dirty charmless concrete buildings, graffiti, and abandoned neo-classical buildings. Athens has rightfully developed a buzz in recent years…