Apr 5, 2019
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/s44du_Y3pjo
If you bicycle or walk home from work, go out of your way to use the side streets. Urban scientists at England’s University of Surrey collaborated with colleagues in England, the Netherlands, and Brazil to measure air pollution during the morning and evening commutes.
The scientists studied black carbon levels in these 3 cities on both the most heavily trafficked routes and on alternative byways. The data revealed twice has high pollution levels on the main routes in all three cities. In London, the levels of toxic carbon were twice as high in the evening as they were in the morning.
If you don’t fancy sucking carbon monoxide and diesel dust during your commute, walk and cycle on the less-traveled routes. Those streets are also safer for you overall. If you do drive, keep your windows and sunroofs closed.
Veronika Sassen Brand, Prashant Kumar, Aline Santos Damascena, John P. Pritchard, Karst T. Geurs, Maria de Fatima Andrade. Impact of route choice and period of the day on cyclists' exposure to black carbon in London, Rotterdam and São Paulo. Journal of Transport Geography, 2019; 76: 153 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.03.007
#Pollution #commuting #London #Rotterdam #São Paulo #bicycling #walking