Developing Strategies for Improving Urban Visual Air Quality

An amalgamation of 3D city models in urban air quality modelling for improving visual impact analysis

Geographical Information Systems (GISs) can be seen as a common tool to map and visualize the air quality index based on geographical locations. However, in urban areas, the area resolution for air quality models is less than 2 kilometres. Since the main emissions agent in urban areas is predominantly vehicular engines, the situation will become worse when pollutants are trapped between buildin...

Cost-effective Strategies to Improve Urban Air Quality

A British research team has recently compared the cost-effectiveness of different measures to reduce fine particulate matter (PM10) pollution in London. The authors used the Urban Scale Integrated Assessment Model (USIAM). This software tool enables to bring together data on air pollutant sources, their respective contributions to atmospheric concentrations, and human exposure, together with in...

Urban Visual Air Quality Judgments: Reliability and Validity

A procedure based on judgments of human observers for measuring visual air quality in urban areas is described, and its reliability and validity are examined using the results of several studies conducted in a metropolitan area. It is concluded that the procedure provides a measure that is sufficiently reliable and valid to warrant its use in studies of the causes and consequences of changes in...

Urban Air Quality Management

Improving air quality

Sources of PM10 within urban areas of the UK include road traffic, industry and power production. Results from numerous investigations of human respiratory and other diseases show consistent statistical associations between human exposure to outdoor levels of PM10 and adverse health impacts. Health effects range from alveolar inflammation in the lungs and respiratory-tract infection (specifical...