Environmental, Economic, and Health-Related Impacts of Increasing Urban Greenery Cover

Abstract

An integrated approach, including statistical data elaborations and microclimate simulations, was presented in this paper to assess the impact of increasing the urban greenery cover in two communities in Ontario on the urban environment, air quality levels, health, and economic responses. The study also aimed to prove the association between ambient temperature and air quality. The correlations between meteorological parameters and air pollutants showed that the ozone and fine particulate matter daily mean concentrations are positively correlated with the mean temperature. The increase in the urban greenery cover confirmed a reduction in mean air temperature of 2 °C and daily average energy savings of 0.16 kWh/m2. With the linkage to other responses, the results demonstrated a potential enhancement in all-cause mortalities and economic benefits.