Abstract
Poor air quality is a pressing policy issue that spans public health and environmental portfolios, and governments worldwide are investing in a wide array of measures to address it. This paper is a rapid review of the evidence behind air quality strategies and technologies. It was conducted according to the principles of a systematic review, and includes both academic and “grey” literature sources. It focuses on road transport in urban areas, because air pollution tends to be worse in cities, and the main source is fossil fuel vehicles. It draws on the environmental science and policy literature to provide interdisciplinary insight into the most effective air quality policy measures. The most promising initiatives include active travel infrastructure, roadside barriers, low emission zones, and low speed limits. Technologies which remove pollution from the air largely remain unproven, especially at the scale needed to make a significant impact. The combinations of policies from three cities which rank highly for air quality are reviewed; one important finding is that policies are most effective when they are a part of a mutually reinforcing suite of measures. Policies consistent across the cities studied are good public transport coverage, a good cycle network, and financial incentives for electric vehicle purchase.
Highlights
Poor air quality negatively affects human health and the environment
We examine the policy initiatives of three cities which rank highly for air quality: Edinburgh (Scotland), Honolulu (Hawaii) and Tallinn (Estonia). We chose these three cities because they were among the cities with the lowest combined PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Ambient Air Quality Database [20] and they had populations above 300,000, so their relatively clean air could not be attributed to their small size
This paper affords an overview of the strategies and technologies for tackling air pollution worldwide, with a focus on pollutants from road transport
Summary
Poor air quality negatively affects human health and the environment. For this reason, governments and private sector organisations across the world are developing and trialling a wide range of ways to improve air quality. By providing empirical examples of the suite of policy measures enacted in three cities that rank highly for air quality, this paper builds on scientific research that has begun to address this issue, such as, for example [11,12]. It includes an evaluation of initiatives that feature in the grey literature but do not yet feature in the academic literature, indicating promising avenues for further academic research. We review individual policy measures which aim to improve air quality, and indicate what evidence is available about their effectiveness
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