Air quality and urban space management

Abstract

A typology of air pollution, the evolution of urban transport emissions and of air quality in urban areas allow us to list the three main urban pollutants today: nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulates. Then, various potential solutions in terms of vehicle technology, but mainly in terms of traffic management and restraints on vehicle use (e.g. public transport, reductions in traffic congestion, traffic concentration, speed reductions, traffic cell scheme in urban central areas, reduction in traffic volumes and urban road pricing) are presented and analyzed from French and mainly foreign examples, and assessed from an effectiveness standpoint in the air pollution and environmental field. A specific attention is paid to urban planning (densification, zoning giving up) in particular from the example of the Curitiba city in Brazil where a voluntarist and efficient policy has been adopted in this field.