TY - JOUR

T1 - Air pollution abatement from Green-Blue-Grey infrastructure

AU - Kumar, Prashant

AU - Corada, Karina

AU - Debele, Sisay E.

AU - Emygdio, Ana Paula Mendes

AU - Abhijith, KV

AU - Hassan, Hala

AU - Broomandi, Parya

AU - Baldauf, Richard

AU - Calvillo, Nerea

AU - Cao, Shi-Jie

AU - Desrivières, Sylvane

AU - Feng, Zhuangbo

AU - Gallagher, John

AU - Kjeldsen, Thomas Rodding

AU - Khan, Anwar Ali

AU - Khare, Mukesh

AU - Kota, Sri Harsha

AU - Li, Baizhan

AU - Malham, Shelagh K

AU - McNabola, Aonghus

AU - Namdeo, Anil

AU - Nema, Arvind Kumar

AU - Reis, Stefan

AU - Sm, Shiva Nagendra

AU - Tiwary, Abhishek

AU - Vardoulakis, Sotiris

AU - Wenk, Jannis

AU - Wang, Fang

AU - Wang, Junqi

AU - Woolf, Darren

AU - Yao, Runming

AU - Jones, Laurence

PY - 2024/12/3

Y1 - 2024/12/3

N2 - Green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) offers environmental benefits inurban areas, yet its impact on air pollution is under-researched, and theliterature fragmented. This review evaluates quantitative studies on GBGI'scapability to mitigate air pollution, compares their specific pollutantremoval processes, and identifies areas for further investigation. Of the 51GBGI types reviewed, only 22 provided quantitative pollution reduction data.Street trees and mixed-GBGI are the most studied GBGIs, with efficacyinfluenced by wind, GBGI type vegetation characteristics, and urbanmorphology. Negative percentages denote worsening air quality, whilepositive reflect improvement. The 22 different GBGI grouped into eight maincategories provide an average (±s.d.) reduction in air pollution of 16±21%,with substantial reduction shown by linear features (23±21%), parks(22±34%), constructed GI (14±25%), and other non-sealed urban areas(14±20%). Other individual GBGI reducing air pollutants include woodlands(21±38%), hedges (14±25%), green walls (14±27%), shrubland (12±20%),green roofs (13±23%), parks (9±36%), and mixed-GBGI (7±23%). On average,GBGI reduced PM1, PM2.5, PM10, UFP and BC by 13±21%, 1±25%, 7±42%,27±27% and 16±41%, respectively. GBGI also lowered gaseous pollutantsCO, O3 and NOx by 10±21%, 7±21% and 12±36%, on average, respectively.Linear (e.g., street trees and hedges) and constructed (e.g., green walls)features can impact local air quality, positively or negatively, based on theconfiguration and density of the built environment. Street trees generallyshowed adverse effects in street canyons and beneficial outcomes in openroadconditions. Climate change could worsen air pollution problems andimpact GBGI effectiveness by shifting climate zones. In Europe and China,climate shifts are anticipated to affect 8 of the 22 GBGIs, with the restexpected to remain resilient. Despite GBGI's potential to enhance air quality,the meta-analysis highlights the need for a standardised reporting structureor to enable meaningful comparisons and effectively integrate findingsinto urban pollution and climate strategies.

AB - Green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) offers environmental benefits inurban areas, yet its impact on air pollution is under-researched, and theliterature fragmented. This review evaluates quantitative studies on GBGI'scapability to mitigate air pollution, compares their specific pollutantremoval processes, and identifies areas for further investigation. Of the 51GBGI types reviewed, only 22 provided quantitative pollution reduction data.Street trees and mixed-GBGI are the most studied GBGIs, with efficacyinfluenced by wind, GBGI type vegetation characteristics, and urbanmorphology. Negative percentages denote worsening air quality, whilepositive reflect improvement. The 22 different GBGI grouped into eight maincategories provide an average (±s.d.) reduction in air pollution of 16±21%,with substantial reduction shown by linear features (23±21%), parks(22±34%), constructed GI (14±25%), and other non-sealed urban areas(14±20%). Other individual GBGI reducing air pollutants include woodlands(21±38%), hedges (14±25%), green walls (14±27%), shrubland (12±20%),green roofs (13±23%), parks (9±36%), and mixed-GBGI (7±23%). On average,GBGI reduced PM1, PM2.5, PM10, UFP and BC by 13±21%, 1±25%, 7±42%,27±27% and 16±41%, respectively. GBGI also lowered gaseous pollutantsCO, O3 and NOx by 10±21%, 7±21% and 12±36%, on average, respectively.Linear (e.g., street trees and hedges) and constructed (e.g., green walls)features can impact local air quality, positively or negatively, based on theconfiguration and density of the built environment. Street trees generallyshowed adverse effects in street canyons and beneficial outcomes in openroadconditions. Climate change could worsen air pollution problems andimpact GBGI effectiveness by shifting climate zones. In Europe and China,climate shifts are anticipated to affect 8 of the 22 GBGIs, with the restexpected to remain resilient. Despite GBGI's potential to enhance air quality,the meta-analysis highlights the need for a standardised reporting structureor to enable meaningful comparisons and effectively integrate findingsinto urban pollution and climate strategies.

KW - Green-blue-grey infrastructure

KW - Urban design

KW - Passive solutions

KW - Air pollution abatement

KW - Sustainable development goals

U2 - 10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100100

DO - 10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100100

M3 - Article

VL - 2

JO - The Innovation Geoscience

JF - The Innovation Geoscience

SN - 2959-8753

IS - 4

M1 - 100100

ER -