Revitalizing tactical urban parks (TUPs) through environmental monitoring and participatory approaches for urban overheating mitigation

The 6th assessment report by IPCC underscores the necessity to switch from immediate to timely actions to foster (urban) climate change adaptation and mitigation. Green areas such as tactical urban parks could represent a strategic asset towards healthier and more sustainable cities and societies. Specifically studied greenery may indeed improve local microclimate and air quality conditions, supporting the socio-ecological resilience of cities while enhancing social interactions. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this study aims to evaluate the environmental quality and local community needs of a neighbourhood located near the historic centre of Perugia (Italy) to provide guidelines for its requalification, especially for outdoor spaces. To achieve this goal, the study conducted dedicated environmental monitoring, demonstrating the massive thermal behavior differences (by about 5K in summer) within the same urban area all over the year, and carried out surveys campaigns focusing on outdoor perceptions and needs reported by the local community. The results confirm that local residents mainly use the area as a thoroughfare to access established activities by car (63% of respondants), leading to high vehicular traffic and pollutants emissions during peak hours, with PM10 concentration peaks reaching 55 μg/m3 and 180 μg/m3 close to the parking lot in winter and spring, respectively. An effective intervention was recognized in the introduction of furniture in the area, creating attractive places to spend the lunch break, enabling people to enjoy the outdoors and maximize thermal comfort benefits. Moreover, reducing vehicular traffic and fostering slow mobility also demonstrated to be attractive measures to improve comfort, health and well-being and reduce negative consequences on air quality.