Toward the development of an equivalent microwave circuit for built-up areas

This paper addresses the problem of developing an efficient and accurate model to compute electromagnetic propagation in built-up areas, when transmitting and receiving antennas are located at streets' level. An open waveguide model of a "street canyon" is proposed as a first step toward the development of an equivalent microwave circuit of a city. The model is aimed to provide a physical description of the electromagnetic propagation in the city, with first application to the design of a sensors network in the city arena.