A Practical Green Infrastructure Intervention to Mitigate Air Pollution in a UK School Playground
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (i)
- Can site-specific multi-species thin green barriers provide enough protection against NO2 and PM2.5 air pollution in a school facility?
- (ii)
- What is ambient PM around an inner-city school made of?
- (iii)
- What has a larger influence on school air quality: multi-species thin green barrier implementation or low-vehicle traffic (due to COVID-19 lockdown)?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
Data Collection Period | Abbreviation | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Pre-green barrier | pre-gb | July–October 2019 | Baseline period: before the green barrier was implemented in Sch-GB site’s playground. |
COVID-19 lockdown | lock | April–June 2020 | Period after the green barrier implementation with first national lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Vehicle traffic and citizens’ mobility were highly restricted. |
Post-green barrier20 | post-gb20 | July–October 2020 | Period one year after the green barrier implementation. COVID-19 restrictions were eased from 23 June to 31 October 2020. Second national lockdown came in force on 5th of November 2020. |
Post-green barrier21 | post-gb21 | July–October 2021 | Period two years after the green barrier implementation. Last phase of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ease, and full reopening of all economic activities on 19 July 2021. |
Period | Site | ||
---|---|---|---|
Sch-GB Mean ± SE | City Mean ± SE | Sch-NoGB Mean ± SE | |
pre-gb | 331.2 ± 4.2 | 231 ± 3.6 | NA |
lock | 197.4 ± 3.6 | 83.4 ± 1.8 | 268.2 ± 3.6 |
post-gb20 | 303.0 ± 4.2 | 160.2 ± 2.4 | 386.4 ± 3.6 |
post-gb21 | 342.0 ± 9.0 | 200.4 ± 3.0 | 463.2 ± 4.8 |
2.2. Green Infrastructure Intervention
2.3. Air Quality Data Collection
2.3.1. Continuous Monitoring with Fixed Devices—NO2 and PM2.5
2.3.2. Monthly Monitoring with Diffusion Tubes—NO2
2.3.3. Intermittent Monitoring with a Mobile Device—PM2.5
2.4. Air Quality Assessment
2.4.1. Data De-Seasonalisation
- Step 1—Deweather:
- ii.
- Step 2—Meteorological normalisation:
2.4.2. Air Quality Pattern Trends
2.4.3. Qualitative Spatial Analysis
2.5. Qualitative PM Elemental Composition Identification
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Impact of Green Barrier on Playground Air Quality
3.2. Elemental Composition of PM Captured by Green Barrier Plants
3.3. Impact of Low-Vehicle Traffic and Low-Citizens’ Mobility Period (COVID-19 Lockdown) on Air Quality
4. Conclusions
- This study suggests that the site-specific and multi-species thin green barrier (0.9–1.3 m max width) built in a UK school playground reduced air pollution. The reduction in pollutants concentration was significant for NO2 (between 13% to 23%) and slight for PM2.5 (about 2%). The downward pre-post intervention trend was statistically significant.
- Composition of PM deposited on the green barrier plant Hedera helix ‘Woerner’ suggests PM of natural and anthropogenic origin. The latter include catalytic converters from motorised vehicles.
- Low-vehicle traffic and low-citizen mobility (lockdown) seem to have significantly reduced NO2; such reduction exceeds the effects of the green barrier. These mobility restrictions do not seem to significantly reduce PM pollution in the UK case study, most likely because meteorological patterns and conditions have a stronger influence on PM than traffic levels.
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Study Site | Air Quality Monitor Type | Air Quality Monitor Specifications | Monitoring Technique | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sch-GB (green barrier intervention) | Low-cost (medium data accuracy) Data quality:
| AQ Mesh V5.0 Developed by Environmental Instruments Ltd. Monitor at 1.7 m above ground level, 3 m away from closest road | NO2: Electrochemical PM2.5: Optical particle counter | [36,37,44] |
City (control site—city centre) | Reference (high data accuracy) | Monitoring station from DEFRA’s AURN Station from ground level to 3 m high, 15 m away from closest road | NO2: Chemiluminescence PM2.5: Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance | [36,45] |
Sch-NoGB (control site—school) | Reference (high data accuracy) | Monitoring station from Sheffield City Council Station from ground level to 2.5 m high, 3.5 m away from closest road | NO2: Chemiluminescence PM2.5: Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance | [36,46] |
Air Quality Data Collection | Period | Study Site | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sch-GB | City | Sch-NoGB | |||||
Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. 1 | Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. | Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. | ||
NO2—fixed monitor (de-seasonalised) | pre-gb | 27.53 ± 0.05 | - | 19.04 ± 0.10 | - | 24.82 ± 0.11 | - |
lock | NA 2 | NA | 14.37 ± 0.03 | −24.43% | 18.50 ± 0.03 | −25.44% | |
post-gb20 | NA | NA | 16.02 ± 0.08 | −15.76% | 19.02 ± 0.06 | −23.34% | |
post-gb21 | 22.88 ± 0.11 | −16.88% | 17.67 ± 0.10 | −6.98% | 24.73 ± 0.10 | −0.37% | |
NO2—diffusion tubes (weather-influenced) | pre-gb | 24.58 ± 2.17 | - | 22.25 ± 0.66 | - | 28.58 ± 0.30 | - |
lock | 11.50 ± 1.50 | −53.22% | 14.22 ± 0.29 | −36.09% | 19.05 ± 0.31 | −33.36% | |
post-gb20 | 16.08 ± 1.17 | −34.58% | 17.83 ± 0.46 | −19.87% | 26.33 ± 0.51 | −7.87% | |
post-gb21 | 14.11 ± 0.63 | −42.62% | 16.43 ± 0.41 | −26.16% | 25.12 ± 0.59 | −12.12% | |
PM2.5—fixed monitor (de-seasonalised) | pre-gb | 5.98 ± 0.01 | - | 6.74 ± 0.01 | - | 6.64 ± 0.01 | - |
lock | 7.50 ± 0.01 | 25.32% | 7.96 ± 0.03 | 18.16% | 7.98 ± 0.03 | 20.13% | |
post-gb20 | 6.09 ± 0.01 | 1.71% | 6.63 ± 0.01 | −1.52% | 6.62 ± 0.01 | −0.27% | |
post-gb21 | 5.85 ± 0.01 | −2.31% | 6.74 ± 0.01 | 0.033% | 6.65 ± 0.01 | 0.078% |
Air Quality Data Collection | Period | Location Inside Playground | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Tube | South Tube | West Tube | |||||
Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. 1 | Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. | Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. | ||
NO2—diffusion tubes (weather-influenced) | pre-gb | 24.75 ± 2.24 | - | 20.75 ± 3.33 | - | 28.25 ± 2.29 | - |
lock | NA | - | 10.00 | −51.81% | 13.00 | −53.98% | |
post-gb20 | 15.75 ± 1.11 | −36.33% | 14.25 ± 1.11 | −31.33% | 18.25 ± 1.11 | −35.39% | |
post-gb21 | 13.72 ± 1.70 | −44.57% | 13.25 ± 1.21 | −36.14% | 15.35 ± 1.55 | −45.66% |
Weather Conditions | Period | Sampling Points | Mean ± SE (µg m−3) | Conc. diff. 1 against Street |
---|---|---|---|---|
High hum–low temp | pre-gb | street | 5.82 ± 0.21 | - |
playground | 6.45 ± 0.20 | 10.95% | ||
post-gb20 | street | 7.03 ± 0.17 | - | |
playground | 7.07 ± 0.11 | 0.60% | ||
Low hum–high temp | pre-gb | street | 5.63 ± 0.12 | - |
playground | 5.79 ± 0.11 | 2.79% | ||
post-gb20 | street | 6.34 ± 0.14 | - | |
playground | 6.04 ± 0.06 | −4.69% |
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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Redondo Bermúdez, M.d.C.; Chakraborty, R.; Cameron, R.W.; Inkson, B.J.; Val Martin, M. A Practical Green Infrastructure Intervention to Mitigate Air Pollution in a UK School Playground. Sustainability 2023, 15, 1075. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021075
Redondo Bermúdez MdC, Chakraborty R, Cameron RW, Inkson BJ, Val Martin M. A Practical Green Infrastructure Intervention to Mitigate Air Pollution in a UK School Playground. Sustainability. 2023; 15(2):1075. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021075
Chicago/Turabian StyleRedondo Bermúdez, María del Carmen, Rohit Chakraborty, Ross W. Cameron, Beverley J. Inkson, and Maria Val Martin. 2023. "A Practical Green Infrastructure Intervention to Mitigate Air Pollution in a UK School Playground" Sustainability 15, no. 2: 1075. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021075