Challenge Bibendum - Urban air pollution a public heath issue

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Home Understanding sustainable mobility Challenges Urban air pollution a public heath issue

Urban air pollution a public heath issue

01-5-2010 by Challenge Bibendum

Resume:
Enhancing air quality is essential to improving the quality of life in urban areas. It is an essential component of sustainable mobility.

Road transport as a major source of air pollution

All across the world people are converging on urban areas. Increased and unplanned motorization ensues. The harmful impacts include pollution, congestion, noise and road accidents. In an urban environment road transport is a major source of CO₂ emissions the primary greenhouse gas. Other transport-related pollutants include nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO2), lead (Pb) and ozone (O3).

Pollution causes adverse effects on public health and well-being. The groups with the highest levels of exposure include drivers, commuters and pedestrians. A certain quality of life should include clean air to breathe.

Factors contributing to air pollution

The concentrations of pollutants in urban areas depend on several contributing factors:

Levels of motorization
Heavy traffic concentration and ensuing gridlock
Age of the vehicle fleet resulting from the slow rate that motorists renew their vehicles. 80% of pollution is caused by 20% of the oldest vehicles
Poor vehicle maintenance
Availability of fuels, their quality and use
Local atmospheric and topographic conditions

Expansion of urban areas: suburbia and exurbia not served by public transport.

Reducing exposure to transport-related pollution

In developed countries urban pollution has regressed substantially in spite of an increase in traffic. The same is not true in low-income countries where vehicles are often older and fuels of a poorer quality. Numerous options exist to reduce exposure to transport-related pollution:

Enhanced and alternative vehicle and fuel technologies to reduce emissions
Mandatory vehicle inspections to reduce the number of poorly maintained vehicles on the road
Traffic management to improve the flow of traffic
Integrated, efficient and clean public transport systems
Integration of health and environmental consideration into town planning to determine better patterns of residence, mobility and public transport
Road pricing and low-emission zones.