Dispersion of Traffic Pollutants in the Built Environment

Abstract

Environmental modelling software can be useful for evaluating design interventions and formulating strategies to achieve a specific purpose, such as providing outdoor thermal comfort. It is less commonly used in predicting the dispersion of street pollutants. The aim of this research is to test selected morphological patterns with respect to their influence on wind conditions and the transport of traffic pollutants, and to verify the results against previous studies. The objective of the research is to evaluate relations between building typology in interactions with urban atmosphere. The method utilises a wind tunnel simulation with a static line source of emissions. Experiment results show that the exposed urban morphology models display an impact on flow conditions and consequently on the dispersion of traffic pollutants. At the same time, the results highlight the importance of urban aerodynamic perspective, particularly of urban spaces that can be expected to be subject to higher traffic pollutants in terms of urban air pollution.

Keywords

• street canyon
• street greenery
• traffic pollutants
• urban design
• urban morphology