Urban Green Governance: IoT-Driven Management and Enhancement of Urban Green Spaces in Campobasso

TL;DR

This paper presents an IoT-driven platform for real-time monitoring and management of urban green spaces in Campobasso, enhancing sustainability and citizen well-being through data integration, predictive modeling, and automated decision support.

Contribution

It introduces an innovative, integrated IoT and data-driven governance system for sustainable urban green space management, combining sensors, cloud computing, and machine learning.

Findings

Real-time monitoring of green space health parameters.

Optimized irrigation through predictive models.

Enhanced decision-making for urban green management.

Abstract

The efficient design and management of public green spaces is a key factor in promoting the health and well-being of urban population, as emphasized by the WHO, UNEP, and EEA. These areas serve as the "green lungs" of the urban ecosystem, playing a vital role in enhancing quality of life thanks to the provision of ecosystem services. In this context, the Smart Green City use case in Campobasso municipality, funded by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises (MIMIT), emerges as an innovative model for the sustainable management of green urban areas through the adoption of an advanced system of emerging technologies integrated and interoperable. The project integrates IoT systems and data-driven governance platforms, enabling real-time monitoring of the health status of trees and green areas via a Decision Support System (DSS). It also facilitates the collection and analysis of data from diverse sources, including weather conditions, air quality, soil moisture, pollution levels. The resulting cloud-based platform supports a holistic real time decision making for green urban managers, technical experts and operational staff. It enables intelligent control and management of urban green spaces using Tree Talker sensors, integrated with soil moisture and water potential monitoring systems. Thanks to predictive models based on machine learning algorithms and real time data provided by IoT sensors, irrigation of public parks can be optimized by providing suggestions on when and how much water to apply. Customized alerts layers are also activated warning users when monitored parameters, such as soil temperature, humidity, or water potential, exceed predefined thresholds. This Use Case demonstrates how digitalization, IoT sensors fusion and technological innovation can support sustainable urban governance, fostering environmental resilience and improving citizens quality of life.