Urban greenery for clean air

Air pollution poses a major global health risk. Urban areas, including several Swedish cities, are facing challenges in finding effective mitigating strategies.

While transitioning to electric vehicles reduces exhaust emissions, non-exhaust traffic-related particle emission remains a concern.

Urban greenery has been identified as a potential strategy for reducing particulate matter through deposition, but its impact on air quality is still debated.

In this project we will use novel modelling tools combined with targeted measurements to enhance our understanding of how vegetation can be used for optimizing air quality.

We will study species-specific efficacy in removing pollutants, optimize vegetation placement in the city environment, and assess its large-scale impact on air quality. Collaboration among academia, the public sector ensures the development of relevant and scalable solutions. The expected short-term outcome is evidence-based guidance for the use of urban greenery to improve air quality.

The long-term outcomes are improved air quality, sustainable development, and the well-being of urban residents, as well as tools and data enabling further studies into the effect of urban greenery.

This initiative advances the implementation of urban greenery for cleaner air and sustainable urban planning and is a collaboration between IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg botanical garden, and the City of Gothenburg.