Abstract
Population concentration in cities brings new risks as an increase in pollution, which causes urban health problems. In order to address this problem, traffic reduction measures are being implemented as pedestrianization areas; they are the definition of Low Emissions Zones (LEZs). When the effectiveness of these types of measures is in doubt, smart city tools provide data that can be used to scientifically asses their impact. This article analyzes the situation of Madrid Central (Spain), a LEZ subject to controversy. We apply statistical and regression analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of this measure to reduce air pollution and outdoor noise. According to the results, this LEZ was able to significantly reduce NO 2 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 concentration locally, having the same positive impact in the rest of the city. In terms of noise, this measure was able to mitigate background noise levels generated by road traffic.
Highlights
Urbanization trends worldwide show a clear preference of the population to live in urban areas: Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban places and this proportion is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 [1]
In order to asses the effectiveness of the Low Emissions Zones (LEZs), we evaluate the air pollution and the noise in the LEZ and in different areas of the city
In order to asses the effect of MC on the rest of the city of Madrid, we study NO2 concentration measured by sensors located through Madrid that gather the Open Data Portal (ODP) data
Summary
Urbanization trends worldwide show a clear preference of the population to live in urban areas: Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban places and this proportion is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 [1]. The major concern derived from the rapid development of car-oriented cities is the high generation of emissions (air pollutants and noise) and their impact on the inhabitants’ health [3] Another related problem is the increase of environmental noise, which gives rise to a range of health problems including annoyance, sleep disturbance, increasing hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases [4]. An urban design focused on car use has a negative effect on the quality of the social space, forgetting that the physical and spatial context has a deep influence on people throughout the whole course of life. Other groups, such as the elderly, could benefit too from environments with safe walking access, improving their independence and well-being [16]
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