Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin

Abstract Urban air pollution remains a challenge in European cities, despite decades of improvement, especially with respect to recent updates to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality guidelines in 2021. At the same time, a new generation of small sensors for air pollution measurement ha...

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Main Authors: Sean Schmitz, Alexandre Caseiro, Andreas Kerschbaumer, Erika von Schneidemesser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2024-06-01
Series:Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.240050
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author Sean Schmitz
Alexandre Caseiro
Andreas Kerschbaumer
Erika von Schneidemesser
author_facet Sean Schmitz
Alexandre Caseiro
Andreas Kerschbaumer
Erika von Schneidemesser
author_sort Sean Schmitz
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Urban air pollution remains a challenge in European cities, despite decades of improvement, especially with respect to recent updates to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality guidelines in 2021. At the same time, a new generation of small sensors for air pollution measurement have opened up new avenues for understanding air pollution in cities. In this study, we use Plantower PMS 5003 sensors to measure PM2.5 alongside three local traffic policies implemented in 2020 and 2021. These measures include a new bike-lane and a temporary community space, as well as the creation of a pedestrian zone through the closure of a street to through-traffic. The measurement campaign used the sensors in both mobile and stationary deployments, utilizing their small size and lower cost to increase spatial and temporal resolution measurements. We calibrate the Plantower sensors using Schmitz et al.’s (2021b) methodology and test three different models: multiple linear regression (MLR), gradient-boosting machines (GBM), and support vector machines (SVM). Results show that sensors are useful for measuring PM2.5. We also find no significant effect of any of the local transport policies on local concentrations of PM2.5, despite previous studies of these policies showing reductions in local NO2 concentrations. This indicates that larger-scale policies tackling urban and regional emissions of PM will be needed to improve PM concentrations and meet WHO standards.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1680-8584
2071-1409
language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
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series Aerosol and Air Quality Research
spelling doaj-art-2c1532eab6bc490eb3a9db0f8dd03f5e2025-02-09T12:24:34ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092024-06-0124911410.4209/aaqr.240050Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in BerlinSean Schmitz0Alexandre Caseiro1Andreas Kerschbaumer2Erika von Schneidemesser3Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre PotsdamResearch Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre PotsdamSenate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate ActionResearch Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre PotsdamAbstract Urban air pollution remains a challenge in European cities, despite decades of improvement, especially with respect to recent updates to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality guidelines in 2021. At the same time, a new generation of small sensors for air pollution measurement have opened up new avenues for understanding air pollution in cities. In this study, we use Plantower PMS 5003 sensors to measure PM2.5 alongside three local traffic policies implemented in 2020 and 2021. These measures include a new bike-lane and a temporary community space, as well as the creation of a pedestrian zone through the closure of a street to through-traffic. The measurement campaign used the sensors in both mobile and stationary deployments, utilizing their small size and lower cost to increase spatial and temporal resolution measurements. We calibrate the Plantower sensors using Schmitz et al.’s (2021b) methodology and test three different models: multiple linear regression (MLR), gradient-boosting machines (GBM), and support vector machines (SVM). Results show that sensors are useful for measuring PM2.5. We also find no significant effect of any of the local transport policies on local concentrations of PM2.5, despite previous studies of these policies showing reductions in local NO2 concentrations. This indicates that larger-scale policies tackling urban and regional emissions of PM will be needed to improve PM concentrations and meet WHO standards.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.240050Low costPlantower PMS 5003Air pollutionUrban traffic policy
spellingShingle Sean Schmitz
Alexandre Caseiro
Andreas Kerschbaumer
Erika von Schneidemesser
Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Low cost
Plantower PMS 5003
Air pollution
Urban traffic policy
title Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
title_full Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
title_fullStr Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
title_short Quantifying Impacts of Local Traffic Policies on PM Concentrations Using Low Cost Sensors in Berlin
title_sort quantifying impacts of local traffic policies on pm concentrations using low cost sensors in berlin
topic Low cost
Plantower PMS 5003
Air pollution
Urban traffic policy
url https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.240050
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AT alexandrecaseiro quantifyingimpactsoflocaltrafficpoliciesonpmconcentrationsusinglowcostsensorsinberlin
AT andreaskerschbaumer quantifyingimpactsoflocaltrafficpoliciesonpmconcentrationsusinglowcostsensorsinberlin
AT erikavonschneidemesser quantifyingimpactsoflocaltrafficpoliciesonpmconcentrationsusinglowcostsensorsinberlin