SUPERVISOR: Rosemarie STANGL

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Martha KOGLER

With rising global temperatures and increasing urbanization, European metropolitan areas face intensified urban heat island effects, negatively impacting public health and well-being—especially among vulnerable populations. 

Green Infrastructure (GI) offers a proven solution by providing ecosystem services such as cooling, air purification, and stormwater management. However, its implementation lags due to financial and planning barriers, as benefits remain intangible to decision-makers. 

My PhD aims to enhance the visibility of GI’s value by developing and refining methods to quantify and monetize ecosystem services. Using greenpass technology and microclimate simulations, this study evaluates the economic and environmental impact of GI across different urban settings (Figure 1). 

Results will contribute to making GI benefits more transparent, facilitating evidence-based planning and strengthening the economic justification for GI implementation in urban climate adaptation strategies.

Figure 1: Calculating long term effects of GI to assess a return of investment