Tel Aviv-based company, Vertical Field, is launching “the largest ever research study” on the impact smart living walls have on health and the environment in urban areas.

Vertical Field, which provides smart living walls and vertical fields for leading companies like Facebook and Apple, has partnered with professor Itamar Lensky and colleagues from Bar-Ilan University (BIU), the Agricultural Research Organization, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to conduct the research.

The study will take place over a number of years, and will monitor and analyse a range parameters such as CO2 footprint reduction, heat reduction, impact on air quality, health impact assessment, economic benefits evaluation, the establishment of winning economic models, and other aspects.

The research aims to alleviate and minimise the adverse effects of rapid urbanisation and increased building density on the environment, as well their impact on human health in an urban ecosystem.

According to Guy Elitzur, CEO of Vertical Field, “Urban areas are now home to more than half of the world’s population. Not only do they generate about 80 percent of the world’s economy; they are also responsible for more than 70 percent of global energy use and production of global energy-related emissions.

“There is an urgent need to create a more sustainable way of life in cities across the globe. The research led by BIU, the largest study ever undertaken on the effects of smart living walls in urban environment, will hopefully provide scientific, measurable data that will enable us to promote a more sustainable life for all in congested urban environments.”