Sustainable Development of the Historic Centre of Naples: The Impact of Vehicular Traffic and Food Service Business on Air Quality

Fabio Murena

doi:10.3390/atmos11090938

Abstract

Monitoring campaigns were carried out to assess the impact of vehicular traffic and food service business on the air quality in the historic centre of Naples. These campaigns monitored fine particles (FPs) from 20 to 1000 nm, using a condensation particle counter (CPC) in four connected streets, during a period of four weeks, from 7 November to 7 December 2019. Two streets were pedestrian only, while the others had average traffic. The following variables were considered while analysing the data—street geometry, and traffic and food service business emissions. The results showed prevalent air contamination, with some critical situations. The FP concentration values in the pedestrian streets were similar to the average values measured at the roadside of other European cities. However, the FP concentration values measured on the streets with average traffic, were twice that of their European counterparts. Spatial maps of FP concentration were produced to assess the impact of food service business emissions at the street level. The maps showed an insignificant contribution to FP pollution. However, it must be noted that emissions of the food service businesses were not measured at the roof top level in this study. The aspect ratio (H/W) played a relevant role on FP concentration, as an increase in aspect ratio correlated to an increase in FP concentration. These findings showed critical preliminary information for the sustainable development of the historic centre of Naples, which should be confirmed through a long-term monitoring campaign.

Highlights

In recent years, the historical centres of many Mediterranean cities are experiencing significant transformations
In Naples, the limit value (LV) for PM10 daily average—established as a maximum of 35 days a year—of over 50 μg/m3 was often exceeded and PM2.5 year average was generally very close to the limit value of 25 μg/m3. Average values of both PM10 and PM2.5 were well below the limit values established by EC (Figure 2), at all three fixed stations
The results reported showed how fine particles (FPs) concentration in the historical centre of Naples was quite high, and this finding confirmed results obtained in previous research activities in the same area, while monitoring campaigns of other pollutants

Summary

Introduction

The historical centres of many Mediterranean cities are experiencing significant transformations. The atmospheric emissions of these activities can jeopardise air quality and human health. Air quality inside the urban canopy layer (UCL), the layer from ground to building rooftops, represents one of the principal challenges for the sustainable development of cities [1], as air pollution in urban areas poses a major threat to health and climate. More than 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the WHO guideline limits [2]. The WHO estimates that the combined effects of ambient (outdoor) and indoor air pollution kill about seven million people worldwide every year, as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections

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Discussion

Conclusion