Can City Planning Help Win the War on Air Pollution?
As more people live in bigger cities with larger infrastructure creating greater pollution, we need to know more about the quality of air.
Every year approximately 7.7 million people die from the effects of air pollution, a poisonous problem that damages health and costs the global economy an estimated $225 billion annually. Measuring, analysing, understanding, and reducing the levels of air pollution in our cities can make a real difference not only to people’s quality of life, but also to how long people live.
Dr. Fulvio Amato, with support from the AXA Research Fund, is developing measures to improve the quality of the air in our cities. Analysing samples of atmospheric particles collected from across a city, his research is identifying the specific sources of air pollution and is measuring its impact on the surrounding area. His research highlights the harmful contribution made by road traffic and suggests simple ways in which cities could become more liveable and resilient to the dangers of air pollution.
This is the one of five short films with the AXA Research Fund to inspire understanding of the hazards faced by urban areas, and the ways in which we are working to minimize their impact and make the world’s cities safer.
Other films in this series cover urban data & spatial planning, flooding, earthquakes, and the role of insurance in the resilience of cities.
Learn more HERE.
