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7.1 Urban and Environmental Framework
Veneto Region climate is characterized by different issues: the region is between
44.9° and 46.7° North latitude and it is between central Europe (where western and
Atlantic currents are predominant) and southern Europe (where subtropical anticyclones and Mediterranean Sea infl uences are predominant). The presence of the Po
Valley, the Adriatic Sea, the Alpi Mountains and the Garda Lake are further factors
that affect the Veneto Region climate. In a simple way, the climate is characterized
by two main regions: the alpine zone (central Europe mountain climate) and the Po
Valley zone (continental climate), with two sub-regions with milder climate (Garda
Lake and Adriatic Sea zones).
Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River, 40 km West of Venice and 29 km SouthEast of Vicenza, inside the eastern part of the Po Valley; it has a humid subtropical
climate (Köppen climate classifi cation Cfa) with cold winters and hot summers,
frequently associated with air stagnation (respectively fog and sultriness). The city
has an area of 93 km
2 , a mean altitude of 12 m a.s.l. and a population of 214,000 (as
of 2011); the population density is quite high for Italy, 2300 inhabitants/km
2 , the
higher in Veneto Region and not far from that of Rome. The city is picturesque, with
a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large municipal squares (“piazze”),
and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione River, which
once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat. The industrial area of Padua was created in 1946, in the eastern part of the city; now it is one of the biggest industrial
zones in Europe, having an area of 11 million m
2 . Here the main offi ces of 1300
industries employing 50,000 people are located. It can be of some interest to give
some feature (data of 2010 (ARPAV 2011 )) concerning the situation of the energy
consumption of the territory. In terms of subdivision in electricity, thermal and
transport consumption, no data at Province level are available. On the regional level,
the respective values are: 2724, 6042 and 3088 ktep. The Province of Padua consumes 5500 GWh of electricity (19 % on the Veneto Region basis, 1.8 % on Italy
basis), a half is consumed by industry sector and 28 % by tertiary sector. Concerning
the residential sector only, Padua city per-capita consumption of electricity is 1300
kWh year
−1 while the consumption of natural gas is around 700 m
3 year
−1 (the averages of all Italian capitals of province are respectively 1200 kWh year
−1 and 390 m
3
year
−1
, data 2011 (ISTAT 2012 )).
City of Padua is quite sensitive to initiatives concerning the protection of the
environment, human health and energy saving. During the last decade, the
Municipality has been involved in different European Projects (Life Siam – n.
LIFE04 ENV/IT/000524, Life “South-EU Urban ENVIPLANS”, Belief – Building
in Europe local intelligent energy forums, LIFE-PARFUM); initiatives like the
arrangement of the Energy Plan and the Climate Plan have been adopted in order to
give practical tools to reduce energy consumption and to introduce adaptation and
mitigation strategies to climate change.
All these climatic and environmental characteristics of the territory can put forward the interest in the study of the heat island effect of the city of Padua.
M. Noro et al.
7.1 Urban and Environmental Framework
Veneto Region climate is characterized by different issues: the region is between
44.9° and 46.7° North latitude and it is between central Europe (where western and
Atlantic currents are predominant) and southern Europe (where subtropical anticyclones and Mediterranean Sea infl uences are predominant). The presence of the Po
Valley, the Adriatic Sea, the Alpi Mountains and the Garda Lake are further factors
that affect the Veneto Region climate. In a simple way, the climate is characterized
by two main regions: the alpine zone (central Europe mountain climate) and the Po
Valley zone (continental climate), with two sub-regions with milder climate (Garda
Lake and Adriatic Sea zones).
Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River, 40 km West of Venice and 29 km SouthEast of Vicenza, inside the eastern part of the Po Valley; it has a humid subtropical
climate (Köppen climate classifi cation Cfa) with cold winters and hot summers,
frequently associated with air stagnation (respectively fog and sultriness). The city
has an area of 93 km
2 , a mean altitude of 12 m a.s.l. and a population of 214,000 (as
of 2011); the population density is quite high for Italy, 2300 inhabitants/km
2 , the
higher in Veneto Region and not far from that of Rome. The city is picturesque, with
a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large municipal squares (“piazze”),
and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione River, which
once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat. The industrial area of Padua was created in 1946, in the eastern part of the city; now it is one of the biggest industrial
zones in Europe, having an area of 11 million m
2 . Here the main offi ces of 1300
industries employing 50,000 people are located. It can be of some interest to give
some feature (data of 2010 (ARPAV 2011 )) concerning the situation of the energy
consumption of the territory. In terms of subdivision in electricity, thermal and
transport consumption, no data at Province level are available. On the regional level,
the respective values are: 2724, 6042 and 3088 ktep. The Province of Padua consumes 5500 GWh of electricity (19 % on the Veneto Region basis, 1.8 % on Italy
basis), a half is consumed by industry sector and 28 % by tertiary sector. Concerning
the residential sector only, Padua city per-capita consumption of electricity is 1300
kWh year
−1 while the consumption of natural gas is around 700 m
3 year
−1 (the averages of all Italian capitals of province are respectively 1200 kWh year
−1 and 390 m
3
year
−1
, data 2011 (ISTAT 2012 )).
City of Padua is quite sensitive to initiatives concerning the protection of the
environment, human health and energy saving. During the last decade, the
Municipality has been involved in different European Projects (Life Siam – n.
LIFE04 ENV/IT/000524, Life “South-EU Urban ENVIPLANS”, Belief – Building
in Europe local intelligent energy forums, LIFE-PARFUM); initiatives like the
arrangement of the Energy Plan and the Climate Plan have been adopted in order to
give practical tools to reduce energy consumption and to introduce adaptation and
mitigation strategies to climate change.
All these climatic and environmental characteristics of the territory can put forward the interest in the study of the heat island effect of the city of Padua.
M. Noro et al.