Port cities: sustainability for the environment and citizens’ health in Italian port cities The project aims to improve environmental sustainability and health in Italian port areas by assessing air and marine pollution, evaluating the health impacts of emissions, and proposing mitigation solutions. The study focuses on five Italian port cities: Genoa, Ancona, Civitavecchia, Bari, and Brindisi. A multi-phase methodological framework was defined and completed over the course of 2025. The activities carried out, in line with the project timeline, have so far led to the following results. Using the Bottom Up Harbor (BUH) software, which implements the European reference methodology, a highly detailed picture of shipping-related emissions by ship type and corresponding operational phase was obtained. This makes it possible to accurately represent the specific characteristics of each port and the relative impact, including seasonal variations, of the main determinants of maritime traffic (e.g., cruise ships versus freight). To assess population exposure to air pollution with a spatial resolution suitable for epidemiological health impact studies, small-scale spatial variability of pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, and NO₂) was estimated using generalized additive models (GAMs) at very high spatial resolutions (100 × 100 m). Several predictors were selected, including those representing shipping-related impacts, following a stepwise approach to identify the model with the optimal set of covariates based on the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The resulting estimates will be used to assess the impact of air pollution on the resident population in the five cities. Finally, within the project, the city of Civitavecchia was selected as a demonstrative case study, with the aim of developing high spatial resolution models to estimate population exposure also to macro- and micro-components of particulate matter, by combining measurement campaigns carried out with a dense network of mini-samplers and generalized additive statistical models (GAMs). https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/projects/environment-and-health/port-cities-sustainability-for-the-environment-and-citizens2019-health-in-italian-port-cities https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/projects/environment-and-health/port-cities-sustainability-for-the-environment-and-citizens2019-health-in-italian-port-cities/@@download/image/Screenshot+2025-12-15+132717.png

Port cities: sustainability for the environment and citizens’ health in Italian port cities

The project aims to improve environmental sustainability and health in Italian port areas by assessing air and marine pollution, evaluating the health impacts of emissions, and proposing mitigation solutions.

The study focuses on five Italian port cities: Genoa, Ancona, Civitavecchia, Bari, and Brindisi. A multi-phase methodological framework was defined and completed over the course of 2025. The activities carried out, in line with the project timeline, have so far led to the following results. Using the Bottom Up Harbor (BUH) software, which implements the European reference methodology, a highly detailed picture of shipping-related emissions by ship type and corresponding operational phase was obtained. This makes it possible to accurately represent the specific characteristics of each port and the relative impact, including seasonal variations, of the main determinants of maritime traffic (e.g., cruise ships versus freight).

To assess population exposure to air pollution with a spatial resolution suitable for epidemiological health impact studies, small-scale spatial variability of pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, and NO₂) was estimated using generalized additive models (GAMs) at very high spatial resolutions (100 × 100 m). Several predictors were selected, including those representing shipping-related impacts, following a stepwise approach to identify the model with the optimal set of covariates based on the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The resulting estimates will be used to assess the impact of air pollution on the resident population in the five cities.

Finally, within the project, the city of Civitavecchia was selected as a demonstrative case study, with the aim of developing high spatial resolution models to estimate population exposure also to macro- and micro-components of particulate matter, by combining measurement campaigns carried out with a dense network of mini-samplers and generalized additive statistical models (GAMs).