New technical guidance to help cities develop clean air zones is to be drawn up by the global philanthropic organisation Clean Air Fund.
The guidance will focus on the technical aspects of how a city can develop, implement and evaluate a clean air zone, which are sometimes referred to as low-emission zones.
The aim of the guidance is to complement existing resources, providing added depth on technical aspects for city officials working on sustainability, environmental and or transport issues.
Clean air zones can use a number of measures to reduce pollution, including traffic control measures and emission limits.
The Clean Air Fund has partnered with Arup, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), and Kaleidoscope Health and Care to develop and promote the guidance.
Arup has extensive experience in clean air zones and similar projects across the globe, ICCT has worked with many cities on sustainable transport initiatives, and Kaleidoscope are experts in engagement and partnership building.
In an interview, Arup’s associate director of air quality, Sarah Legge said it is important to support cities who want to develop and implement clean air zones.
Legge added the guidance will help build on existing studies into public engagement and the process itself of developing a zone.
She added the guidance will also look at what can be done if a city does not have a single main central space, like many in Europe have historically or good public transport connections.
And she said they will be interviewing various experts around the world who have either implemented clean air zones or looked at whether they might be work or not in their particular location.
She told me air pollution can have massive health impacts, including asthma and cardiovascular disease and recent studies have also highlighted the links between pollution and diabetes, dementia and strokes.
“Everything we have learned over the last 10 years has strengthened the need for action on air pollution,” said Legge.
“But one of the most interesting things is how the health impacts of air pollution are distributed,” she added.
“We now have a much better understanding of how air pollution will affect you at different stages of life, and how some people are more vulnerable than others.”
She said Arup is also working on a project in London to see how some schools can help mitigate the impact of air pollution on young pupils.
“City residents deserve access to clean air,” said Clean Air Fund chief executive, Jane Burston in an email.
“Clean air zones are a proven measure for tackling air pollution and delivering huge health and economic advantages for their citizens,” added Burston.
“More cities around the world need support to design effective clean air zones that work for their communities, allowing millions more people to breathe the benefits.”
The European think tank, Bruegel recently published a report, which estimates air pollution still causes $663 billion in losses each year in the European Union, equal to 4% of its annual gross domestic product.
The report claims costs stem from productivity losses, such as increased absenteeism, the reduction of in-job productivity and harm to ecosystems.
And it found air pollution costs are disproportionately high in eastern Europe and Italy, where losses are projected to remain above 6% of GDP until 2030.
