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A total of 135 participants from 55 organisations attended the 3rd scientific  meeting in a hybrid format The 3rd RI-URBANS Science Meeting successfully took place in Helsinki, Finland on September 25-26, 2023, bringing together 47 onsite and 77 online attendees from 55 institutions worldwide, including notable organizations such as EMEP, WMO, WHO, ACTRIS, IAGOS, and ICOS. Revision of the 2nd reporting period, updates of the work packages (WPs), and the display of open data and service tools were some of the topics that were covered As this event represented the mid-term project meeting, several important topics were addressed: Summery of research outputs: from WPs since the 2nd Science Meeting  (2023 – 2024) Developed RI-URBANS Service Tools and their applications (RI-URBANS provides 16 advanced Service Tools to meet the demands of new and complex urban air quality scenarios and enhance the analysis of air quality). Guidance documents (Art 10, Annex 7 of new EU AQ directive) for implementing advanced AQ parameters (UPF, PSD, BC, NH3, VOCs, PM speciation, source apportionment, evaluation of health effects). Added value of measuring the listed above AQ parameters at Pan-European scale in urban areas. Open access to RI-URBANS compiled data. you could access the presentations of this meeting here  

We are thrilled to announce that RI-URBANS has been spotlighted in the "13 Success Stories of Green Deal Projects" publication. This recognition highlights our innovative efforts in monitoring and improving air quality in urban areas, contributing significantly to the goals of the European Green Deal. Read the full RI_URBANS Success Story      

A total of 135 participants from 56 organisations attended the mid-term project meeting in both online and onsite formats   Revision of the 1st reporting period, updates of the work packages, and the display of open data and service tools were some of the topics that were covered The 2nd Science Meeting took part in Delft, the Netherlands, on October 18-19th 2023. A total of 63 attendees onsite and 76 attendees online from 56 institutions participated, including EMEP, WMO, WHO, ACTRIS, IAGOS, and ICOS. As this event represented the mid-term project meeting, the following topics were addressed: Outputs of the 1st reporting period (2021 – 2023) Pan-European reports on advanced air quality parameters. Most data compilation has been finished but an update will take place. Open access of compiled data and flow of data towards ACTRIS. Service tools on 3D measurements. Analysis of health outcomes, city mapping, citizen involvement, pollution, and hotspots. First results on emission inventories and modelling. Progress of the 5 RI-URBANS pilots. Support of ACTRIS and RI-URBANS to the implementation of Articles 7 and 10 of the new EU Air Quality Directive, specifically on ultrafine particles in hotspots and advanced air quality parameters in supersites. Progress of upscaling actions. The case study of upscaling for Warsaw, Poland. Left: Jan Peters, Martine Van Poppel, and Jelle Hofman (VITO). Right: Gaëlle Uzu (CNRS/IRD). | Robèrt Kroonen “For this meeting, it was very important to involve air quality policy stakeholders in the interpretations and discussions of the project results, as well as pilots and applications of the Service Tools”, explains Xavier Querol, RI-URBANS coordinator and CSIC researcher. Following the guidelines of the project evaluation process, it was agreed to make the open data and the description of the Service Tools more accessible. The description of these Service Tools is ready and will be reviewed by the WP leaders in the upcoming month. "Some Service Tools are ready to be delivered. However, there are some others that will require further research to be harmonised, so it is very likely this will happen after the project lifetime. One of our goals now is to discuss how to do it", explained Tuukka Petäjä, RI-URBANS coordinator and researcher at the Univesity of Helsinki. A co-design process of the Service Tools between RI-URBANS and stakeholders will also be implemented to ensure the effective delivery of these tools to the end-users. Finally, the project's progress will be displayed as a graphic roadmap on the website to make it more accessible. In the discussion, it was also reaffirmed the need to intensify interactions with ICOS-Urban, IAGOS, and other Green Deal projects. Left: Professor Roy Harrison (UB) and the RI-URBANS coordinator, Tuukka Petäjä (UHEL). Right: Wenche Aas (NILU). | Robèrt Kroonen The summary of the meeting can be read in the corresponding Milestone 43 (M7.8): CHECK OUT MILESTONE 43 (M7.8)  

A total of 152 participants from 69 institutions attended the workshop to discuss the implementation of supersites for the new EU Air Quality Directive   Key points were reached regarding the need for synergy and harmonisation of advanced air quality parameters On June 19th, 2023, the 3rd RI-URBANS Stakeholder Meeting was celebrated as an AQUILA-ACTRIS/RI-URBANS-EMEP Information Day for national air quality experts to discuss the implementation of supersites in the proposal for the new Air Quality Directive. Among the 152 attendees, there were representatives of DG ENV, WHO, WMO, ACTRIS, EMEP, AQUILA, RI-URBANS (from 20/26 partners); air quality national experts from 23 countries, regions, and cities; 7 RI-URBANS associated collaborators, and 12 national research centres and private companies. The draft for a new EU Air Quality Directive mentions that ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure) and EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) have major roles in the implementation of Article 10 on supersite measurements. Furthermore, AQUILA is the network of National Air Quality Reference Laboratories, and it will have a major role there. “One of the objective of this workshop was to inform the national air quality experts on the capabilities of ACTRIS, EMEP and AQUILA”, declared Xavier Querol, co-coordinator of RI-URBANS and CSIC researcher. The other main objective was to discuss the recommendations sent to DG ENV by ACTRIS/RI-URBANS for the measurement of advanced air quality parameters. The key points reached during the meeting are as follows: Promote synergy, harmonisation, and identifying additional resources. Although challenging, synergy among Air Quality Monitoring Networks (AQMNs) and Research Infrastructures (RIs) is needed to use the available resources and combine the scientific support and instrumentation already existing with the AQMNs’ expertise. Harmonisation should be implemented for ultrafine particle - Particle Number Size Distribution (UFP-PNSD), black carbon, and also oxidative potential. To clarify in the Air Quality Directive the objectives of each advanced air quality parameter included in Art 10.   The summary of the meeting can be read in the corresponding Milestone 42 (M7.7): CHECK OUT MILESTONE 42 (M7.7)   The presentations from the 3rd Stakeholder Meeting are freely accessible: DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATIONS