Abstract
As in other countries of the world, the Turkish government is implementing many preventive partial and total lockdown practices against the virus’s infectious effect. When the first virus case has been detected, the public authorities have taken some restriction to reduce people and traffic mobility, which has also turned into some positive affect in air quality. To this end, the paper aims to examine how this pandemic affects traffic mobility and air quality in Istanbul. The pandemic does not only have a human health impact. This study also investigates the social and environmental effects. In our analysis, we observe, visualize, compare and discuss the impact of the post- and pre-lockdown on Istanbul’s traffic mobility and air quality. To do so, a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach is proposed. Various spatial analyses are performed in GIS with the statistical data used; thus, the environmental effects of the pandemic can be better observed. We test the hypothesis that this has reduced traffic mobility and improved air quality using traffic density cluster set and air monitoring stations (five air pollutant parameters) data for five months. The results shows that there are positive changes in terms of both traffic mobility and air quality, especially in April–May. PM10, SO2, CO, NO2 and NOx parameter values improved by 21.21%, 16.55%, 18.82%, 28.62% and 39.99%, respectively. In addition, there was a 7% increase in the average traffic speed. In order for the changes to be permanent, it is recommended to integrate e-mobility and sharing systems into the current transportation network.
Highlights
The terms energy, production and use of energy have started to be used in every field, especially in recent years, as energy is a great power that directly affects all humanity
The main reason for this change is the decrease in the mobility of conventional motor vehicles used in urban transportation and emissions caused by transportation [4,5,6]
This study focused on the application of geographic information system (GIS)-based techniques using the interpolation method and statistical methods such as analysis of variance (ANOVA) to understand the changing association of pollutants in the pre- and during-closure phases [37]
Summary
The terms energy, production and use of energy have started to be used in every field, especially in recent years, as energy is a great power that directly affects all humanity. We have to use this power in a correct, environmentally friendly, innovative and sustainable way, otherwise the irreversible consequences of climate change and global warming will endanger the future of humanity. In addition to this ongoing danger, as of March 2019, humanity faced the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic [1]. As the lockdown times increased, some environmental analyses began to be performed. This process showed that there was a great change in air quality, especially in crowded cities and areas with high mobility [2,3]. In order to ensure this effect is permanent, it is vital to encourage and expand the use of sustainable energy and transportation types in urban transportation
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