tGreen fac¸ades and walls greatly contribute to reducing solar gains and dispersion through the buildingenvelope. This implies a lower energy load for both heating and cooling and the mitigation of thermal con-ditions in outdoor areas. Despite this, more studies are needed regarding the influence of these systemson the thermal behaviour of insulated fac¸ ades. In this manuscript, we report the results of experimentalresearch carried out on a vertical green wall in a continental Mediterranean climate. The main goal ofthe research is to establish a thickness above which the behaviour of the green fac¸ ade becomes isother-mal and its performance do not improve. To this end, we analyze and evaluate the effect of insulationthickness on the energy performance of a green wall using a new methodology called green fac¸ ade opti-mization (GFO). Comparing the simulations to experimental data, collected in a full-scale experimentalbox during the summers of 2011 and 2012, allowed the model to be validated. The results show that agreen wall acts as a passive cooling system when the fac¸ ade is moderately insulated, up to an insulationthickness of 9 cm, above which more insulation becomes redundant and inefficient

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This paper presents preliminary findings of an outdoor thermal comfort study conducted in an urban area to evaluate the representative Predicted Mean Vote index. Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces is often faced with the task of using large amounts of data that yields meaningful information concerning the thermal sensation. It is essential to interpret correctly meteorological and thermal comfort data. In particular, it is important to interpret data using an appropriate statistical analysis, and the analysis of thermal comfort presupposes a synthesis of information derived from a series of temporal data. It is indispensable to deal with realistic data and an actual day should be considered, but the widely used average day is not an actual day. On the contrary, the representative day is made of the actual data of the day, in the period considered, where the sum of the mean-square differences among its monitored quantities, averaged within each hour, and the same quantities for all other days at the same hour, is minimised. The goal of this research is to assess the representativeness of the thermal comfort indices provided using a representative day technique. Specifically, a new tool has been developed using a powerful and useful environment for symbolic and numerical computing and data visualization such as Wolfram MathematicaTM, aiming at linking information computed by a bio-climate model to the representative day technique. The possibility of assessing the diurnal variation of PMV thermal comfort index by introducing the Representative Day technique has been evaluated in order to gather information on the correlation between thermal comfort and meteorological parameters. A case study has been analysed in order to improve the microclimate in an outdoor space located in a typical Mediterranean area and a comparison with CFD code, namely ENVI-MET, has been reported. This technique can prove to be a very The Sustainable City VII, Vol. 2 835 important tool for identifying both anomalous and standard behaviours of comfort indices within the selected period in outdoor urban spaces.

Ozone is a secondary pollutant that forms in the atmosphere through complex chemical reactions mainly between Nitrogen Oxides ( NOx ) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC ); such reactions are triggered by the presence of solar radiation.In this paper the Ozone formation in the Falconara area, an industrialized area located on the central Adriatic coast of Italy, has been examined during a period of high ozone concentrations that occurred in August 2000 to understand spike phenomena registered in some ozone time series.The selected data set consists of concentration hourly averages and related elementary values, both provided by the monitoring network of Ancona Province, Italy. We have analysed hourly averages to investigate the long-term and medium-term behaviour of pollutants, while elementary values have been used to study scattering phenomena (low frequency and high frequency fluctuations in concentration levels) registered in some ozone time series.Spectral analysis has been performed over the air pollutant time series; the focus has been set on photochemical pollutants traced by ozone concentrations, considering potential correlations with chemical precursors, and atmospheric parameters such as solar radiation, wind velocity and air temperature. Analyses conducted led to the hypothesis that the processes that generate ozone in Falconara are more rapid and efficient than in other urban areas, and that ozone production varies significantly over shorter spatial scales than in other urban areas.Results have yielded possible explanations regarding the origins of the oscillations.www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)

A proper planning of mobility can reduce air pollution due to road traffic. A crucial role, also aiming to improve sustainability, is played by the local Public Policies. Public Policies and initiatives can facilitate air pollution control, but an environmental consciousness has to be spread too. According to this principle, Ancona Provincial Authority is aiming at minimising the environmental impact of road traffic by persuading commuters to switch to public transportation systems.The aim of our work is the evaluation of improvements of air quality in a set of scenarios that could take place according to the Provincial Authority Policies. The study has been developed for the whole Ancona Province considering the exurban mobility network. The Province Offices provided data about the present passenger mobility scenario and the possible scenario based on an implemented public transportation system better responding to the local demand. Tangible reduction of the emissions from transportation is generally expected.The results are summarized by two main indices: the load of pollutants for each arc supports the decision-making process on the validity of the planned scenario, while the load of pollutants per person for each arc offers a social responsibility index to help the Public Administration to implement a sustainable and responsible culture in the citizens.