EPHA is calling on mayors across Europe to tackle growing levels of air pollution by further restricting traffic in urban centres, a demand based on a wide-ranging new transport study.
The report on Air pollution & transport policies at the city level, conducted by the environmental consultants CE Delft for EPHA, reviews the impacts of transport-related policy measures in cities and how they affect air quality. Researchers looked at 28 types of urban policies currently running in a host of cities around the world, from zero emission public buses to sharing e-scooters, to see their effect on PM and NOx reductions from traffic.
The report focuses on five policy measures, which are:
- congestion charging;
- environmental (low-emission) zones;
- car-sharing schemes;
- parking policies;
- cycling/walking policies.
The EPHA briefing makes eight recommendations on how city mayors and leaders can tackle the social costs of air pollution:
1.Implement Low Emission Zones, charging and parking policies;
2.Make walking and cycling a cornerstone of city level mobility;
3.Integrate public transport into a multimodal transport system;
4.Denormalise personal vehicle use in urban areas;
5.Listen to the health evidence and involve the medical community
6.Improve urban pollution monitoring networks
7.Act local, think global! – Join forces with and learn from other cities’ experiences in tackling air pollution;
8.Unleash available funding to finance cities’ green and healthy recovery.
