Portici

The alarming data of the effects of air pollution on health, especially of the inhabitants of the cities, impose to identify and adopt effective strategies of contrast.
Portici, with its population density among the highest in Italy, 73% of urbanized surface, over 4,300 homes per Km2, a strong prevalence of the housing function on production activities, is particularly exposed to air pollution and has posed the challenge to face it in an integrated key to achieve improvements in the quality of life and to protect the valuable natural and architectural components of its territory.
With AIR-HERITAGE it will be pursued the reduction of 20% of thin (PM10) and ultra-thin (PM 2.5) particles of NO2, CO and O3, the increase of 1,000 E-bike sharing users, the spread of the pedibus in 75 % of primary schools, 20% increase in children who reach school on foot.
Portici is located barycentrically in the large Vesuvian conurbation that without interruption belongs to the metropolitan city of Naples, it connects to the Piana Campana up to Caserta and the Agro Nocerino Sarnese up to Salerno, a district inhabited by over 3 million people. In this context it represents an ideal pilot experimentation dimension.

Although the main sources of air pollution are known and the first is represented by vehicular traffic, to effectively tackle the problem we have deemed necessary:  improve the knowledge of pollution in qualitative and quantitative terms at adequate levels of spatial and temporal detail; have tools that can support local authority decisions; resort to widespread sharing and participation of communities.
AIR-HERITAGE foresees the development of an innovative, pervasive and versatile way of monitoring air quality that is integrated with the ordinary institutional monitoring. Through the modeling of the data collected with respect to the context and the preparation of a decision support tool that can be used by both public administrators and citizens, they will be able to adopt the most appropriate choices and behaviours. Citizens themselves will be able to compete directly in monitoring using portable detectors. Local communities, in a complementary and synergic way, will be sensitized to adopt virtuous behaviour.

• Municipality of Portici
• Italian National Agency for New Technologies Energy and Sustainable Economic Development - higher education and research institute
• University of Naples Federico II – Department of Agricultural Sciences - higher education and research institute
• Legambiente Campania Onlus - NGO
• Campania Regional Agency for Environment Protection - regional authority
• Terraria Srl. - SME

AIR-HERITAGE aims to obtain a change in the way the components of the City of Portici assess and react to air quality issues, reducing the distances and barriers among them. In particular, AIR-HERITAGE success will impact on citizens mobility choices and policy engagement as well as UA policy decision making. Through the new pervasive monitoring stations network, the city AQ measuring, hi-res mapping, and remediation design capability will be established. Trough enhanced awareness of personal exposure, AIR-HERITAGE will define a new level of social cohesion for fighting environmental threats. Citizenship, Regulatory Monitoring Agencies, Research centers and Economical actors will enhance their support and engagement in AQ knowledge building, Policy making and implementation. As a final result, Air quality will improve in the areas most affected by car traffic. Most of the results will be transferable to cities that are subjected to the same forces at political, environmental, social, technical level.

February 2020: The fixed network of AQ analyser is deployed while the fleet of portable analysers is made available to citizens and associations. Monitoring campaigns and behavioural changes campaign may start. 
May 2020: Hi-Res Air quality mapping capability is achieved, the citizens awareness achieve new levels of detail and clarity
September 2020: The AQ Decision support system is made available to the UA technical personnel, the UA achieve the capability to design participated Air Quality remediation and control strategies and policies.
July 2021: The monitoring campaigns ends, Final assessment of behavioural change and AQ improvement is implemented.