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ICT
Air
Good Health And Well-Being
Sustainable Cities And Communities
Climate Action
For the last decade, Urban Air Quality Platforms (UAQPs) have been an important tool for collecting, processing and visualising hyperlocal data about urban emissions. Similarly, UAQPs are generally open for access providing transparency and air pollution awareness. Data can be provisioned either by dispersed sensors across the city or through satellite imagery. The sensors collecting the data can be installed either by an operator (e.g. the municipality) or on private property.
Problems to be solved:
| Siloed AQ data | Unaccounted emissions | Restricted data access | Misidentification of emission sources |
The main goal of UAQPs is to raise awareness on the quality of urban air. Thereby, it intends to initiate actions to address pollution. Whereas some benefits are likely to be fulfiled with a basic implementation of the solution, the fulfilment of the mandatory and potential benefits depends on the functions implemented in a specific project.
Increased data transparency
Improved data accessibility
Enabling new business opportunities
Creating new jobs
Encouraging digital entrepreneurship
Reducing GHG emissions
Promoting sustainable behavior
Improving life quality
Reducing local air pollution
Promoting active living
Promoting sustainable private transport models
Improving traffic management
Products as sensors collecting data on local air quality sensors
Products informing citizens about local or hyperlocal air quality, such as an App or a website
Products generating and giving advices on optimization of citizens’ behaviour
Products allowing citizens to offer private property to install sensors
How air quality data is visualised is rather straightforward, through a dashboard in a web browser platform or mobile app. However, what truly differs is the methods of data collection and processing. The following variants give an overview of four different data collecting methods.
Low-cost air quality sensors are becoming widely used for broad urban applications, as they offer air pollution monitoring at a lower cost than conventional methods, thus allowing a higher density deployment.
Metal oxide sensors are the most affordable in the market. In 2020, the approximate cost of such system ranged between 1,000 – 5,000 EUR. With higher sensor cost, the response time and sensitivity to temperature and humidity variations improves.
Therefore, a low-cost sensor deployment must be accompanied by a machine learning algorithm that can reproduce sensor responses at different measurement sites and conditions. Due to the influence of meteorological parameters on a sensor signal, simple correction and/or calibration is not always possible.
Participatory sensing is the action of citizens voluntarily using their computational devices to capture and share sensed data from their surrounding environments in order to monitor and analyse air quality. Recent technological advances in sensor technology have allowed for the creation of portable as well as visually appealing sensors that can be carried or be installed in backyards. These sensors can both provide air quality data to a central UAQP and inform citizens of the surrounding air quality through an app.
ICT
Air
With increasing pollution becoming one of the biggest struggles of cities, they have to collect precise air quality data before initiating concrete measures. In this project Telefonica Next uses anonymised mobile network data to calculate air pollution.
Air
Mobility
Health
Urban air pollution is hyper-local. Deadly air pollution varies more than 8x within 200 meters, which is however not reflected on current air pollution maps. AirVeraCity provides people actionable air quality information by accurately measuring air pollution from a mobile platform.
While ground sensing can accurately measure air pollutant concentration, its coverage is limited to the deployment of sensors. Therefore, researchers in Europe, have developed a software that uses fine spatial resolution sensors to determine air quality at an urban level. This is achieved through a radiometric comparison of satellite imagery of a clear day to a polluted day. This provides a relative quantitative scale of air pollution, which is used in conjunction with ground-based monitors to develop spatially resolved maps of air pollution (Engel-Cox et. al, 2012)
The European Space Agency is nowadays the leading organisation in fostering remote sensing satellite imagery for the improvement of air quality. Projects such as Copernicus provide satellite information to help service providers, public authorities and other international organisations improve European citizens' quality of life.
| Fixed Costs | |
| Software (Including API and GUI): 25 % | |
| Sensors: 75 % |
| Variable Costs | |
| Operation & Maintenance: 50 % of Fixed Costs |
European Union policy on air quality aims to develop and implement appropriate instruments to improve air quality. Therefore, European States have to divide their territory into several zones and agglomerations. In these zones and agglomerations, the Member States need to undertake assessments of air pollution levels using measurements, modelling, and other empirical techniques – and report air quality data to the European Commission accordingly.
The EC has set air pollutants concentration limits enforcing member states to address the sources responsibly. In addition, information on air quality should be disseminated to the public. (European Commission, 2018)
Operating Model for an Air Quality Data Platform (BABLE,2021)
Average Implementation Time: 0.1 - 1 years
Initial Investment Amount: less than 50,000 € for an urban district
According to a review by Business Wire, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Air Quality Monitoring Systems is estimated at 3.47 Billion EUR. Similarly, it is projected to reach a revised size of 4.63 Billion EUR by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.4%.
The global air quality monitoring market is divided into indoor and outdoor monitoring. Urban air quality systems are classified as outdoor monitoring systems. These can be further categoriszed into fixed, portable, dust, and particulate monitors and air quality monitoring stations.
Current technological advances in air quality sensors significantly decreased both fixed and variable costs of UAQPsurban air quality platforms. Fixed costs include the software, consisting of its communication API and web graphical user interface. Variable costs include calibration and maintenance, among others.
New technologies remove most of the need for local maintenance and calibration, moving these functions to a cloud service. Therefore, operating costs of these kinds of platforms include cloud-based computerized maintenance management systems.
Achieving citizen awareness and understanding of urban air quality systems is necessary for any UAQP implementation. Therefore, fixed costs must include a citizen portals and citizen participation campaigns.
1) Global Warming
2) According to research co-authored by UCL, an estimated 1 in 5 deaths every year can be attributed to fossil fuel pollution and in 2018, approximate 8.7 million people died due to fossil fuel emissions alone. Figure from which 21.5 % is attributed to particulate matter. Figure 1 illustrates the death distribution as a cause of air pollution.
Figure: Average outdoor PM2.5 pollution and total air pollution deaths by region in 2013 (World Bank, 2013)
3) In 2016, the WHO declared that 92 percent of the global population lived in areas where the pollution exceeded the world health organization’s air quality guidelines.
4) The effects of air quality on people was estimated in 2013 to cost the global economy approximately 190 billion EUR (World Bank, 2013).
As mentioned, anthropogenic sources are the main contributors to air pollutants. However, air pollution can also be caused by natural sources such as volcanic activity (releasing mainly SO2, CO2, and HF), sandstorms like the Saharan Dust, and ozone produced by the reaction of sunlight with oxygen. Nonetheless, anthropogenic sources are emitted with a much higher rate and density.
Anthropogenic sources can be classified into mobile, stationary and area sources. Mobile sources involve emissions produced by transportation, such as vehicles, maritime vessels and trains. Air pollutants in exhaust gases are generated by incomplete combustion of fuel. Carbon monoxide and unburned fuel are the main exhaust gases produced by gasoline engines.
Stationary sources are power plants, industrial activity and oil refineries. The effect of these is greater when located within the urban area of a city. The energy sources with the highest emission factor are lignite hard coal, which is the reason why there is a global effort to phase out coal as an energy source.
Finally, area sources can be appointed to agricultural and human activity. Agricultural emissions are usually underestimated; however, being that ammonia NH3 and methane CH4 are the main air pollutants, their impact is severe. Methane, for example, has a global warming potential 28 times higher than carbon dioxide.
Stakeholder Map for an Air Quality Data Platform (BABLE, 2021)
Supporting Organisations
Energy
ICT
Air
Health
Building
A modern building with modern ventilation which standardises air to 22°C. However, staff reporting it feels cool in some areas. We needed more scientific data in more areas that was non-invasive and could be implemented at low cost.
Air
ICT
Mobility
Health
Access to real-time air quality data is essential for citizens to make informed decisions about their daily activities, leading to a healthier and more sustainable environment for all.
Air
Through Hawa Dawa´s solution, the city of Ulm can monitor its air quality data which allows a better vision of the current air status.
Air
A local network of IoT (Internet of Things) measurement devices in Seelze was established to collect data on air parameters.
Air
The municipality of Kirchheim is a Smart City lighthouse Municipality and already has some IoT devices for measuring air quality in the municipal area. The existing coverage is to be supplemented by a sensor infrastructure in order to digitally monitor the air quality in the area.
Mobility
Air
The densely populated urban structure and increasing road traffic have presented the city of Mainz with the challenge of reducing harmful emissions and sustainably improving air quality without having to resort to drastic and undifferentiated measures such as general driving bans.
Mobility
ICT
Air
Health
An EU funded 'citizen science' project that empowers citizens to take a leading role in measuring road traffic and air pollution in their neighbourhoods.
Mobility
Air
Health
“Air View Dublin”, an initiative that will see Google’s Street View car take to the streets of Dublin to measure air quality across the city. This initiative will inform smart transit programmes, with the goal of reducing emissions and increasing the use of cleaner modes of travel.
Air
Health
A natural moss filter with smart IoT technology was implemented in Hampstead Hill School to improve the local air quality.
Air
Health
Putney High Street is relying on green technology to improve the cycling and walking conditions of their residents.
Mobility
ICT
Air
Health
The app includes corresponding local options such as ride sharing companies, electric mobility services or a gateway to relevant public transport. In addition the app includes other mobility related information for the area and a function to display a heat map of exhaust pollution in the city lab.
ICT
A Big Data Management Application, called Urban Cockpit has been implemented in the city of Cologne to provide a fast and easy overview of the data stored in the Urban Data Platform. It includes data from traffic management systems , energy providers and other such companies.
ICT
Air
Mobility
Breeze Technologies is creating a citizen-driven air quality sensing network in the district Rothenburgsort in Hamburg, Germany.
ICT
Air
With increasing pollution becoming one of the biggest struggles of cities, they have to collect precise air quality data before initiating concrete measures. In this project Telefonica Next uses anonymised mobile network data to calculate air pollution.
Air
Mobility
Health
Urban air pollution is hyper-local. Deadly air pollution varies more than 8x within 200 meters, which is however not reflected on current air pollution maps. AirVeraCity provides people actionable air quality information by accurately measuring air pollution from a mobile platform.
ICT
Air
Health
Project to understand the contribution of Hamburg's port area as a source of air pollution. Together with AIS and weather information, the identification of individual vessels as pollutant sources is made possible.
Tourism
Mobility
ICT
Security
Cork Dashboard provides citizens, public sector workers and companies with real-time information, time-series indicator data, and interactive maps about all aspects of the city and county.
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