Building green and blue spaces, such as parks, in new communities is crucial for cleaner air
With house building a priority for the new UK Government, researchers at the University of Surrey are urging city planners not to forget to build "greening areas" such as parks in new communities.
Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), working with 30 co-authors from seven countries, found that parks may be the most effective solution for reducing overall air pollution – cutting air pollution by 22% city-wide. However, the study highlights the importance of evaluating how well different types of green, blue, and grey infrastructure (GBGI) work in smaller spaces and recognising that parks can include multiple features, which together enhance their impact.
The study also examined other common types of green, blue, and grey infrastructure (GBGI), such as trees, green walls, and hedges, and found mixed results for their ability to reduce air pollution.
Trees were most effective in open-road conditions, where they could cut pollution by up to 77%. However, the researchers discovered that planting trees in narrow, enclosed streets – known as street canyons –can sometimes worsen air quality. This is because certain tree species and arrangements can block airflow, trapping pollution.
The research is part of the RECLAIM (Reclaiming Forgotten Cities - Turning Cities from Vulnerable Spaces to Healthy Places for People) project. RECLAIM is a £1.45m UK Research and Innovation-funded Network Plus initiative. It is led by GCARE in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Universities of Bath, Bangor and Warwick.
According to the World Health Organization, ambient (outdoor) air pollution caused 4.2 million deaths in 2019. Major sources of outdoor air pollution include vehicles, power generation, and residential energy for cooking and heating.
We have discovered that many of the GBGI lack scientific evidence regarding their effectiveness in removing air pollution. Decisions are often based on expert judgments, and so it is crucial that we fill this knowledge gap as quickly as possible for informed decision-making and for maximising the potential of GBGI.Professor Prashant Kumar
The study has been published in the journal The Innovation Geoscience.
Reference:
Prashant Kumar, Karina Corada, Sisay E. Debele, Ana Paula Mendes Emygdio, KV Abhijith, Hala Hassan, Parya Broomandi, Richard Baldauf, Nerea Calvillo, Shi-Jie Cao, Sylvane Desrivières, Zhuangbo Feng, John Gallagher, Thomas Kjeldsen, Anwar Ali Khan, Mukesh Khare, Sri Harsha Kota, Baizhan Li, Shelagh K Malham, Aonghus McNabola, Anil Namdeo, Arvind Kumar Nema, Stefan Reis, Shiva Nagendra, Abhishek Tiwary, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Jannis Wenk, Fang Wang, Junqi Wang, Darren Woolf, Runming Yao, Laurence Jones. Air Pollution Abatement from Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructure. The Innovation Geoscience 2(4), 100100. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100100
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