Air Quality Assessment and Management in Urban Environments
Summary
Urban air quality assessment and management hinge on comprehensive monitoring, modelling and policy frameworks that address primary pollutant emissions from traffic, industry and domestic sources, as well as secondary pollutant formation such as ozone and secondary particulate matter. Assessment begins with high‐resolution field measurements and emissions inventories, feeding into chemical transport models and receptor analyses to characterise spatial and temporal pollution patterns. Source apportionment techniques identify key contributors to particulate and gaseous pollutants, informing targeted mitigation strategies. Management approaches span regulatory standards, local action plans and cross‐sectoral policies, including sustainable transport measures, emission control technologies and urban planning interventions. Effective strategies require integration of scientific evidence, stakeholder engagement and adaptive governance to reduce health and environmental impacts while achieving equitable air quality improvements globally.
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Air Quality Assessment and Management in Urban Environments publication trend
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Technical terms
PM2.5: Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 micrometres, capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory tract and linked to adverse health outcomes.
Emissions inventory: A systematic compilation of pollutant release rates from various sources, serving as input for air quality modelling and policy evaluation.
Source apportionment: Analytical methods used to determine the contributions of distinct emission sources to observed pollutant concentrations.
Chemical transport model: A numerical framework that simulates the transport, chemical transformation and deposition of atmospheric pollutants across spatial scales.
Secondary organic aerosol (SOA): Particulate matter formed in the atmosphere through the oxidation of volatile organic compounds, contributing to fine-particle mass and visibility reduction.
References
- Brazilian Atmospheric Inventories – BRAIN: a comprehensive database of air quality in Brazil. Earth System Science Data (2024).
- Source apportionment to support air quality planning: Strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches. Environment International (2019).
- PM2.5 source allocation in European cities: A SHERPA modelling study. Atmospheric Environment (2018).
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