Environmental Design of Urban Open Spaces

Project Summary

This project involves the training and re-training of engineers in environmental planning and seeking news ways of business development and networking as a result of companies visits and meetings that will take place in the mobility. This project fills the gap that exist in undergraduate studies, the acquisition of expertise and lack of information in training for those active in this field. This project is moving towards supporting employability and strengthening the working relationship of the participants in the companies where they are employed. Also trainees using the newly acquired skills, by participating in this project they will have an additional asset to address the range of "unemployment" that the industry faces, as a consequence of economic crisis and the precipitous decline in construction. Engineers participating in this project, that they are involved in urban planning, will enable them to create a "core" of cooperation and joint entrepreneurship partnerships, aiming not only to provide better and specialized services and also to highlight and help create a comprehensive plan management of the urban ecosystem by setting the human and the environment in the center.

Excessive pollution and minimum greenery characterize the Greek cities, six out of ten cities in Europe, with air pollution problems, are Greek (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Larissa and Volos). The green areas of Athens accounts for less than 4% of the whole region area. Regarding urban green space per capita in Athens is less than 3sq.m. while in Bonn is 35, Rotterdam 24, and Amsterdam 27.

The open space, existing or future, is a hub of social, economic and cultural activities of the local community. The environmental design of open spaces aims at achieving better social conditions in the environment of a modern city focusing on the microclimate of these spaces.

The microclimate is influenced by many factors that contribute to global warming and atmospheric pollution. The temperature increase in the urban environment is a phenomenon called "urban heat island" with negative consequences for: the urban environment (air pollution), buildings (increased cooling needs), people (health problems), economy (degradation of urban environment, increased energy consumption), society (degradation of living).

These negative effects are a major problem to be addressed through targeted, coordinated and prioritized interventions. The increase of urban public spaces, especially in densely populated areas is one of the main interventions and institutional arrangements that can maximize the qualitative upgrade of the urban environment.

Main objectives and expected outcomes of the program were:

• Training of young engineers in environmental planning and the new opportunities
• Energy saving and environmental protection
• Knowledge sharing among European young engineers and skilled scientists
• Education and certification of new engineers in specialized software for environmental design
• Creating a skilled workforce of engineers who will respond successfully to the new "challenges"
• The acquisition of specialized experience through education of young engineers with visits and placements in such projects.

The host organization Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona where young engineers from all over Greece visited for two weeks in April of 20133