ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AS A SIGNIFICANT CRITERION FOR CREATING FUNCTIONAL ZONES IN A CITY WITHIN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Background. This study focuses on a vital issue concerning the necessity to consider public health when making decisions on urban development. Purpose. Test approaches to using available data on environmental public health risks when creating functional zones in a large industrial center. Materials and Methods. Aerogenic health risks associated with ambient air pollution were assessed by calculating dispersion of emissions from 2500 industrial sources and 4000 traffic network sections as well as by using environmental monitoring data. Results. We established that 1889 land spots of 3619 functional zones with standardized air quality were fully or partially located in areas with unacceptable public health risks. These land spots included 905 residential areas and 984 spots with recreational potential. Conclusion. Obviously, an inconsistency between actual health hazards for city population and a functional purpose of a zone requires immediate action. Either a functional purpose should be changed, or certain air protection activities should be implemented to make ambient air quality conform to the existing standards and to guarantee acceptable health risks levels. Either option requires environmental and economic substantiation. Any decision on changes in a specific situation in each specific functional zone should be made separately considering hazards, their sources and reasons for their occurrence. These decisions should rely on economic estimates and technical capabilities necessary for implementation of planned activities. People’s life and health should always remain the top priority. The study describes an algorithm for considering environmental factors when functional zones are created within urban development.

Keywords

• environmental risks
• public health
• creating functional zones
• city within urban development
• risks levels