Ideas for clean air: Copenhagen
Lockdownhasimprovedourairquality...howtoavoidasurgeinpollutionafterwards? IdeasforCopenhagen,rangingfromthepracticaltoradical arup.comPhotobySofiaKuniakina Copenhagen’sairqualityhasbeenimprovingyearonyearthankstoeffectivepoliciesandexpandinglow-pollutionpublictransport. AirpollutionhasfallendramaticallyasthecountryhaslockeddownforCOVID-19. Howeverasrestrictionsareeased,thereisariskofanincreaseinairpollution,ifpeopleavoidpublictransportforsafetyreasons. PhotobyKarlFredrickson CLEANCITYAIR HowcouldwemaintainthecleanairinCopenhagen? TheshutdownofDenmarkandtherestofEuropehasledtoadropof35%inthenitrogenoxideairpollutioninDenmark’s cities1.Howeverastheeconomyrestarts,thereisthedangerofareboundinpollutionduetoareturntoprivatecaruse. Wehavedrawnonourexpertisetopresentideasthatcouldhelpmaintainthesehealthierlevelswhenthelockdowniseased,aswellasleadtomanyotherco-benefits,suchasreducedcarbonemissionsandimprovedsafety. 35% dropinnitrogenoxidepollution levelsincitiesasaresultofDenmark’slockdown RECLAIMROADS forevenmorecyclepaths EXTEND thecurrentCleanAirZonetoincludevansandcars TIGHTEN pollutionlimitsonheavygoodsvehicles ELECTRIFY allpublictransportbyaligningandbringingforwardthecurrentambitionsforelectricbuses. ONSHOREPOWER forcruiseshipswhileinport DECREASE constructionrelatedpollutionthroughpre-fabrication,designfordisasseblyandall-electricconstructionvehicles PLANNING requirmentstomitigateairpollutionaspartofallurbandevelopments CITYOF NEIGHBOURHOODS reducetheneedforpeopletotravel URBANCANYONS reducethebuildupofstreetlevelpollutantswhencarefullydesigned REGENERATIVE designthatincreasesthecity’sbiodiveritywithmoregreenspaces. PURIFICATION ofairbyincreasinggreenbio-diversebuildingenvelopes,bothfacadesandrooftops DELIVERYHUBS toenableall-electricvehiclestocompletethe‘last-mile’ofdelivery CANYONING ENERGY PRODUCTION inDenmarkandEuropeshouldswitchtocleanerfuelstoreducebackgroundpollution INCENTIVISE individualsandbusinessestoswitchtolow-emissionsvehicles TRAVELHABITS todesignoutprivatevehiclesfromthecitycentre,byincreasingtranporthubs. CONSUMPTION increasesbackgroundpollutionlevelsfrominternationalshipping MONITOR inmorelocationsinthecitytoraiseawarenessandhelptoquantifytheimpactofchanges. CONTINUEADAPTINFLUENCE 1DetNationaleCenterforMiljøogEnergi(2020)inanotetotheMiljøstyrelsen(DanishEnvironmentalProtectionAgency) https://dce.au.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/nyhed/artikel/reduceret-forurening-fra-vejtrafik-under-coronakrisen-giver-faerre-for-tidlige-doedsfald-og-sygedage-i/ CLEANCITYAIR Introduction AirpollutionisthelargestenvironmentalhealththreatinEurope,withtheaveragelifeexpectancyintheEuropeanUnionshortenedbyeightmonthsduetopollutionexposure1. TheCOVID-19crisishasledtountoldhumansuffering,anditsside-effectsshouldnotbecelebrated. Howeverthedatafromaroundtheworldhasshownairpollutionconcentrationsfallingascitiesgointolockdowninresponsetothevirus.Ouranalysissuggestsadecreaseofupto50%innitrogenoxideslevelsinCopenhagen. Arecentpollfoundthat½ofpublictransportusersintheUKwouldbelesslikelytousepublictransportafterlockdown2. Withthevirussettocauselonglastingconsequences,acrucialquestionforcityplanners-howtoavoidareboundinprivatecar use,erodingthehardfoughtrecentimprovementsinairquality? “Ascitiesmoveoutoflockdownthereisariskofincreasedvehicleuseaspeoplechoosepersonalcaruseoverpublictransport” MichaelBull EnvironmentDirector,Arup WEEKDAYTRAFFICPEAKSHAVE DECREASED200%INCOPENHAGEN3 TomTom-thelocationtechnologycompany -reportsatrafficindexforhundredsofcities basedinpartondatafromsatnavusers.Theindexsuggestshowmuchlongerajourneywouldtaketocompletethaninidealconditions. ForCopenhagen,thecomparisonbetweenthe2020and2019indexesforpeakhoursshowstheimpactofthelockdownontraffic,whereweekdaypeakshavefallenfrom60toaround20. 1CentreforResearchonEnergyandCleanAir(2020)11,000airpollution-relateddeathsavoidedinEuropeascoal,oilconsumptionplummetenergyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CREA-Europe-COVID-impacts.pdf2Autotrader(2020)ConsumerssettoabandonpublictransportasaresultofCOVID-19https://plc.autotrader.co.uk/press-centre/news-hub/consumers-set-to-abandon-public-transport-as-a-result-of-covid-19/ 3SeánClarke(Guardian)Thetrafficdatathatshowstheroadinto-andoutof-Covid-19lockdown,27Apr2020www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/apr/27/the-traffic-data-that-shows-the-road-into-and-out-of-covid WhatisAirPollution? AirpollutionremainsthesinglelargestenvironmentalhealthriskinEuropeaccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganisation1,withmanyEuropeancitiessufferingfrompoorairquality. Themostharmfulpollutionforcitizensincludenitrogenoxides,finesecondaryparticulatematterandozone.Theseareallassociatedwithnegativehealthoutcomeswithbothdirectandindirecteffects2. •NO2isoneofthehighlyreactivenitrogenoxides(NOX)gases.Itsmajorsourceincitiesisthecombustionoffossilfuels.Itisgenerallyproducedinlargerquantitiesbyoldervehicleswithdieselengines.NO2isalsoamaincontributortotheformationofnitratesintheatmosphereand,inthepresenceofultravioletlight,totheformationofozone.
