AIRFRESH - Air Pollution Monitoring in Urban Areas
Project Partners
Project Description
Mass urbanization is one of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century, i.e. 82% of EU population will live in cities in 2030. The heat waves and air pollution peaks that occurred in summer 2019 across Europe caused considerable awareness towards the use of urban trees to mitigate the air pollution and climate change effects and has opened the door to tree planting strategies. However, some municipalities have hurriedly planted any tree species (e.g. Pinus), and these strategies have degraded the local air quality.
The purpose of the project is as follows:
- Examine air pollution removal capacity by urban trees and shrubs by a reforested test area in both cities
- Estimate and quantify the environmental and health benefits provided by a new reforested test area
- Propose recommendations for reforestation policies (e.g. number and type of tree species to be planted), for attainment of the air quality standards in both cities.
