The Use of Camouflaged Cell Phone Towers for a Quality Urban Environment

Abstract

The widespread use of cell phones has led to cell phone towers being located in many communities. These towers, also called base stations, incorporate electronic equipment and antennas that receive and transmit radiofrequency signals. Along with the towers, used for TV and line of sight microwave communication, the proliferation of these base stations is having a detrimental effect on urban esthetics. It is highly recommended for developing urban areas to consider the problem of these unsightly towers as a form of visual pollution, which increases in parallel with the rise of human population density, and also, the possible electromagnetic field (EMF) hazard due to the existence of the cell phone towers in the residential areas. This paper presents the feasibility of using camouflaged cell phone towers to improve the quality of the urban environment. Cell phone towers disguised as trees might address the visual pollution, while, at the same time, might also mitigate the possible EMF hazard by installing these disguised towers in free spaces, rather than on the roof of buildings, schools, hospitals, etc. The feasibility of implementing such a scenario for a quality urban environment in Koya city is discussed.