Job offer

Avignon Université; France; Sur place; EUR 40 000 - 60 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Une opportunité passionnante pour un doctorat dans le domaine des sciences psychologiques, axée sur l'analyse spatiale urbaine et la modélisation climatique. Ce projet de recherche vise à optimiser la renaturalisation des sites urbains en tenant compte des services écosystémiques et des conditions de développement des plantes. Le candidat idéal aura une solide formation en géomatique, ainsi qu'une expertise dans les méthodes d'analyse multi-critères. Rejoignez une équipe dynamique et contribuez à des solutions innovantes pour les défis urbains contemporains. Ce rôle promet de faire une différence significative dans la qualité de vie des habitants et la durabilité des villes.

Qualifications

• Compétences en analyse spatiale et modélisation climatique requises.
• Expérience avec des méthodes d'analyse multi-critères souhaitée.

Responsabilités

• Développer une méthodologie pour sélectionner des sites urbains à renaturaliser.
• Utiliser des modèles pour estimer le micro-climat urbain et les zones végétalisées.

Connaissances

Analyse spatiale urbaine

Méthodes d'analyse multi-critères

Modélisation climatique urbaine

Traitement d'images

Réseaux de neurones convolutionnels

Formation

Doctorat en sciences géographiques

Master en sciences de l'environnement

Outils

LIDAR

Wudapt

Description du poste

Organisation/Company: Avignon Université

Research Field: Psychological sciences » Psychology

Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2), Leading Researcher (R4), First Stage Researcher (R1), Established Researcher (R3)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 17 May 2025 - 22:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Today's cities are under strain, under the yoke of a number of anthropogenic and climatic constraints whose effects are converging towards a concentration of both populations and infrastructures. In France, local authorities' Plan Locaux d'Urbanismes (PLU) attempt to apply the Zéro Artificialisation Net (ZAN) objective to limit any extension of artificialisation and combat urban sprawl. These plans generally advocate the densification of built-up areas within the city, nibbling away at spaces where vegetation could thrive.

Moreover, the concentration of populations encourages sharing the use of urban amenities, reducing the distances travelled by car and emissions of atmospheric pollutants. In this context, the importance of greenery in the city is growing substantially, not only because of its scarcity, but also because of its capacity to produce some ecosystem services (shade, agricultural production, oxygen production) that contribute to the attractiveness of the city and, more generally, to improving the quality of life for its inhabitants and visitors.

Added to this is the tension caused by climate change, the foreseeable impact of which is twofold: a constant average increase in temperature associated with an average scarcity of water, and the more frequent occurrence of extreme climatic events. What's more, vegetation is often a natural vector for heritage enhancement, a geohistorical marker. Coupling the safeguarding of remarkable urban sites with the protection and promotion of appropriate vegetation to enhance them is a promising approach.

More precisely, the aim is to optimize the choice of sites to be renaturalized according to their anthropo-ecosystemic services and plant development conditions. In this context, the aim of the thesis, positioned in geomatics and urban spatial analysis, is to propose a robust methodology for selecting urban sites to be (re)vegetated according to several criteria from different fields.

Firstly, using measurements of micro-climatic variables (temperature, humidity), we will describe the urban ambience with some precision. This information will be projected according to the foreseeable evolution of the climate in order to anticipate the resilience capacity of (re)vegetated sites. The proposed method takes into account the heritage value of urban sites, whether historical, socio-cultural or ecological. Indeed, these vegetated sites can offer strong synergies (aesthetics, tourism), and must be preserved and not deteriorated (materially, for example). There are also criteria related to the visibility and the attractiveness of the sites in the urban environment. Last but not least, the resilience and adaptability of the chosen plants will be a primary consideration.

Of course, some of these criteria may be incomplete or unsuitable, depending on the site. Particular care will be taken to qualify the uncertainty associated with the data describing the criteria, especially according to the scales of analysis. The challenge is to produce a robust quantitative multi-criteria analysis method, i.e. one that can withstand the uncertainty associated with the data and the increasing statistical load. Approaches based on rank (Pareto), duality (Condorcet), objectivity (Electre) or subjectivity (AHP) will be used for all or part of the criteria identified with the partners.

In addition to multi-criteria analysis methods, the PhD student will manipulate models for estimating urban micro-climate (Wudapt, calculation of coolness islands) and vegetated areas based on image processing (LIDAR, NDVI and indicators generated by artificial intelligence methods such as convolutional neural networks).

The project is co-directed by specialists in geomatics and decision support from two disciplines: geographic information sciences and engineering and systems sciences. The city of Avignon is a privileged application partner. The Chambéry site is also a field of analysis.

Début de la thèse: 01/10/2025

Funding category: Contrat Doctoral Etablissement (CDE)