Everyday Environments
Investigating the Association Between Urban Form and Concentrations of Outdoor Particulate Matter in Children’s Everyday Places
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yucel Severcan, Goksun Yildirim, Nese Aydin, Eftade Gaga, Özlem Özden Üzmez, Aybüke Balahun Çoban, Gönenç Ozarlı
Since the environment may be a determinant of children’s inflammatory diseases like asthma, a need exists for understanding the levels of concentrations of outdoor air pollutants which children are exposed to in their everyday environments and, from an urban planning and design perspective, the physical environmental factors that are associated with outdoor air pollution. This study investigates the association between urban form and concentrations of outdoor particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in children’s everyday environments in Ankara, Turkey. More specifically, we focus on the role of building density, land use mix, neighbourhood greenery and street connectivity, as well as some possible sources of particulate matter, such as traffic density and proximity to industrial areas, which may have an impact on PM concentrations. The data collection process started with conducting participatory mapping activities with children to document the places frequented by them. Among 2355 activity places pinpointed by 1687 children living in different neighbourhoods of Ankara, 160 outdoor points/places were chosen based on the spatial characteristics of their surroundings. PM2.5 and PM10 measurements were performed in these selected locations in a cold season (March 22 - April 18, 2023, average temperature: 13.4 °C; average humidity: 47%) by using DustTrak II aerosol monitors. Each measurement lasted 7 minutes. A multivariate regression modelling was used to understand the associations between the selected variables. The results provide evidence-based recommendations to urban planners and designers in their efforts to build healthier environments for all. Acknowledgements: This study is supported by TUBITAK. Project number: 219K243.
The Relationship Between Urban Form and Childhood Asthma in Ankara
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Aybüke Balahun Çoban, Yucel Severcan, Ezgi Ulusoy Severcan, Goksun Yildirim, Nese Aydin
The prevalence of childhood asthma has been rising throughout the world, arguably in urban areas due to increased air pollution emanating from variety of sources like traffic, and industrial and construction areas. Little is known about which physical environmental variables are associated with this chronic disease. This research examines the relationship between various meso-scale urban form variables such as building density, land use mix, neighbourhood greenness and street connectivity and children's asthma. It is assumed that such urban form variables affect the concentration of either air pollutants or pollens in the places where children live, learn and play, which in turn affect their respiratory health. By focusing on the case of Ankara, Turkey, our research design proceeded in four steps: first, determination of children’s residential addresses and doctor-diagnosed asthma status from an ISAAC questionnaire which was filled out by the parents of children between the ages of 7 and 14; second, coding of this data in ArcGIS and SPSS; third, conducting urban form analysis in ArcGIS; and fourth conducting a logistic regression analysis to understand the relationship between the examined variables. Our findings are based on data obtained from 681 parents. It is believed that the findings of this study would help urban planners and designers better understand the link between built environment and childhood asthma and may serve as a basis for future similar research with different methodological approaches. This study is supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey). Project number: 219K243.
Featured Design of a Multi-sensor Building Occupancy System: Distributed Sensing for Understanding and Improving Indoor Air Quality View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christina Higgins
A bespoke multi-sensor building occupancy system was installed at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The system was designed to localise occupants within a space and obtain information on the internal air quality. The World Health Organisation defines air pollution as the single biggest environmental threat to human health, with indoor air pollution a major concern. Presently people spend most of their time indoors and not enough is understood about how to improve indoor air quality. Ventilation can be an effective solution for removing pollutants, however its effectiveness depends greatly on environmental and architectural conditions. Knowledge of occupancy level and the distribution of pollutants indoors can facilitate effective ventilation design. A distributed occupancy and air quality sensing system was designed, which comprised infrared, CO2, temperature and relative humidity sensors and microphones. The system was installed in an office and measured during normal working hours. Data was collected over a period of several weeks and statistical analysis was conducted on the measurement data. The effectiveness of the system in classifying occupancy patterns was judged against a source of ground truth. Distributed CO2 sensing proved to be an effective, low-cost strategy for localising occupants within a room. Obtaining occupancy state by using voice activity detection algorithms on audio data presented several challenges, including privacy preservation, computing power required, and data storage. Several alterations and improvements are proposed for a subsequent sensing system to be installed in a UK location.
