Our team develops and supports technology projects that use big data analytics in city management processes, in particular in solving environmental problems. Kyiv Urban Atlas is a detailed geospatial plan with the function of collecting and analyzing information on urban infrastructure and implementing effective and transparent management decisions based on this data. Cities in 28 European countries already have similar atlases. The full list can be found on the official website of the European Environment Agency. From now on, the project has been implemented in Kyiv as well.

Kyiv Urban Atlas will offer solutions to create the most comfortable and ecological life in the capital in the next few years. The project was developed within the framework of a cooperation agreement between SMART CITY HUB, the Department of Information and Communication Technologies of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council, the Space Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Space Agency of Ukraine. The atlas allows you to predict the level of growth of the city and its landscaping, if it is necessary, create a temperature map. The project also makes it possible to identify the so-called urban “heat islands” areas that are most heated due to high levels of air pollution. This will allow you to take steps to mitigate this effect.

To monitor the state of the city and carry out balanced planning of its development, it is necessary to use important indicators that can characterize each zone in the city, describing its comfort for residents. The first indicator is the density of green cover in each area of the city. Trees perform not only an aesthetic function for people to live comfortably in a green area but also absorb solar radiation, not allowing the earth’s surface to heat up, creating shade and purifying the air.

The second indicator is building density. An artificial surface that heats up quickly cools down slowly. The third indicator that connects these two characteristics is the temperature of the earth’s surface. The high temperature of the earth’s surface harms the well-being of residents, air quality, water and soil. Areas with high surface temperatures are characterized by high building density and low density of tree plantations. Thus the most effective way of its regulation is the reasonable program of gardening of the city.

To implement this program, we need to choose the areas with the most critical situation, where tree planting is possible. To identify these critical areas, it is also necessary to analyze the historical range of these indicators and develop an analytical forecast for the next few years. After that, we choose the zones with the highest temperature of the earth’s surface, the highest density of buildings and the lowest density of greenery. Various techniques can be used: simple seedlings in the backyard, European vertical gardens, modern technology, cooling materials, paints, and procedures. The city also needs a forecast of changes in building density and greenery, which together with the forecast of the earth’s surface temperature should identify areas in which it is necessary to change the development plan and implement it in such areas. The Kyiv Urban Atlas project is our contribution to the improvement of the ecological situation and the development of green areas in the city.

КThe SMART CITY HUB team is taking over the experience of the most progressive countries in the world to solve environmental problems in cities. As far as we know, scientists from the University Medical Center in Mainz (Germany) found that in 2015, polluted air caused 790,000 deaths across Europe. To monitor the environmental situation in Kyiv, we have launched a platform for monitoring air quality in the capital of Ukraine. Samples are taken daily in all areas of the city, and the air is analyzed by 8 indicators: formaldehyde (CH₂O), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure.

The service is available on the portal air.kyivsmartcity.com. To check the air quality, you need to select a specific area and indicator on the map. If the level of toxic gases, such as a nitric oxide or carbon monoxide, exceeds the norm (it is indicated on the graph by an orange line), this is a reason to file a complaint to the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine, which must respond and take appropriate measures. In the lower right corner of the map, there is also a button to view information collected by the satellite from space (astronaut icon). However, these data are more general, because the air layer is measured at a height of about two kilometers.

Air quality monitoring is a vital service for such a large city as Kyiv. After all, its pollution not only worsens the health of residents but also reduces the level of happiness. We care about the health of our citizens, so we are working on new solutions to improve the environment, preserve and increase the green areas of Kyiv.