Air Quality and Active Transportation Modes: A Spatiotemporal Concurrence Analysis in Guadalajara, Mexico
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Pedestrian Bicycle Active transportation modes Air quality Risk Health Mass transport system Bus rapid transit GIS Big data
Fecha
2021-12-16Referencia bibliográfica
Ochoa-Covarrubias, G... [et al.]. Air Quality and Active Transportation Modes: A Spatiotemporal Concurrence Analysis in Guadalajara, Mexico. Sustainability 2021, 13, 13904. [https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413904]
Patrocinador
Ministry of Science, Innovations and Universities (Spain) REDES2018-102320-TResumen
The protection of pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation passengers from environmental
pollution is a global concern. This study fills the gap in the existing knowledge of temporal
exposure to air pollution in Latin American metropolises. The paper proposes a methodology addressing
the relationship between two objects of study, i.e., the users of active modes of transport
and air quality. This new methodology assesses the spatiotemporal concurrence of both objects
with statistical analysis of large open-access databases, to promote healthy and sustainable urban
mobility. The application of the empirical methodology estimated the number of users of active
transportation modes exposed to poor air quality episodes in the Guadalajara metropolitan area
(Mexico) in 2019. The study considered two pollutants, ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10),
and two active modes, cycling and bus rapid transit (BRT). Spatiotemporal analyses were carried
out with geographic information systems, as well as with numeric computing platforms. First, big
data were used to count the number of users for each mode within the area of influence of the air
quality monitoring stations. Second, the number of air pollution episodes was obtained using the air
quality index proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (USA) on an hourly basis. Third,
the spatiotemporal concurrence between air quality episodes and active mode users was calculated.
In particular, the air quality monitoring data from the Jalisco Atmospheric Monitoring System were
compared to users of the public bicycle share system, known as MiBici, and of a bus rapid transit line,
known as Mi Macro Calzada. The results showed that the number of cyclists and BRT passengers
exposed to poor air quality episodes was considerable in absolute terms, that is, 208,660 users, while
it was marginal when compared to the total number of users exposed to better air quality categories
in the study area, who represented only 10%. To apply the results at the metropolitan scale, the spatial
distribution of the air quality monitoring system should be improved, as well as the availability of
data on pedestrians and conventional bus passengers.