Dr Francesco Pilla
The CONNECT Centre’s Dr Francesco Pilla, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, will coordinate a new €6 million project, iSCAPE (Improving the Smart Control of Air Pollution in Europe).
The project, funded under the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges scheme, will see next-generation environmental living labs deployed in cities across Europe to improve air quality and reduce carbon footprints.
Professors Brian Broderick, Aonghus McNabola and John Gallagher will join Dr Pilla on the project which will start this summer and last for three years.
iSCAPE aims to integrate and advance the control of air quality and carbon emissions in several European cities: Dublin, Innovation-City Ruhr (Bottrop, Germany), Lazzaretto Bologna (Italy), Vantaa (Finland), Hasselt (Belgium), Bologna (Italy), and Guildford (United Kingdom).
Researchers also aim to develop sustainable and passive air pollution remediation strategies, policy interventions and behavioural change initiatives.
Dr Pilla said:
“iSCAPE encapsulates the concept of “smart cities” by promoting the use of low-cost sensors, and by engaging citizens in the use of alternative solution processes to environmental problems. iSCAPE will support sustainable urban development by promoting the sharing of results with policy-makers and planners using local test-cases, and providing scientific evidence ready-to-use solutions potentially leading to real-time operational interventions.
“This integrated approach will include the development and assessment of a framework aimed at changing the mobility behaviour of people by studying processes and dynamics that lead to more resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, by bringing together theory from urban planning, public policy, urban and environmental sociology and urban geography.”
CONNECT is the world leading Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications. CONNECT is funded under the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres Programme and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund. We engage with over 35 companies including large multinationals, SMEs and start-ups. CONNECT brings together world-class expertise from ten Irish academic institutes to create a one-stop-shop for telecommunications research, development and innovation.
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