RESCATAME LIFE08 ENV/E/000107 - Pervasive Air-quality Sensors Network for an Environmental Friendly Urban Traffic Management
Overview
Background & policy context:
Air pollution remains a serious cause for concern in Europe. High pollution levels have a significant adverse effect on human health and on the environment, particularly in urban agglomerations where traffic emissions are high. A recent study carried out by the Observatory of Sustainability in Spain (OSE) on air quality in cities shows that living in cities with high levels of pollution reduces life expectancy from a few months to two years, as well as increasing the risk of respiratory diseases. The air quality in cities in Spain is far from satisfactory. The design of cities (width and orientation of streets) must be considered, as it can have a major influence on the dispersion of pollutants. In areas with pollution levels well above average, the flow of traffic and direction, especially during rush hours, is of major importance. In some cities, exhaust from cars is largest source of air pollution. As a result, legislation has been introduced to control more and more types of pollutants and reduce the allowable limits.
Objectives:
The main objective of the RESCATAME project was to introduce the sustainable management of traffic in the city of Salamanca by establishing an air-quality sensors network and the use of prediction models. This objective would be achieved through the technological development and practical application of the ‘instrumented city’ concept, which has already been developed at pilot level in the United Kingdom in recent years. Such development will help to define a new Urban Traffic Management and Control Strategy (UTMC), based on prevention of regular high pollution episodes caused by urban traffic. The purpose of integrating management needs in the areas of mobility and air quality into a single urban traffic management model is not only necessary to achieve the goal of reducing pollution levels below the limits imposed by the European Directives. It is also absolutely essential to organise the city traffic in a rational manner without causing excessive disruption to the mobility needs of citizens and to achieve sustainable traffic levels at any time.
The ‘instrumented city’ concept allows traffic and pollution data to be analysed to produce pollution predictions in real time. It also allows local authorities to calculate the effects of various scenarios of traffic regulation and to compare the impact of the selected scenario on pollution at ‘hotspots’ with new data collected by the same measurement instruments. Thus, the pollution results enable traffic control measures to be fine-tuned in real time.
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