The Respire and Airgones associations publish the first evaluation study of ten street developments at schools (pedestrianization around the school which can be accompanied by the partial or total cessation of road traffic) and their impact on air quality. The measurement campaign carried out in real time shows a downward effect on nitrogen dioxide concentrations of up to 30% on average.
The Respire and Airgones associations measured pollution in real time around ten schools (nine schools in Paris and one in Bagnolet) in order to see the effect of street development at schools.
For this, the associations have carried out several measurement campaigns on NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations with the companies Rincent Air and Pollutrack. Two NO2 measurement campaigns took place from June 14 to 28, 2023 and from September 21 to October 6, 2023. The PM2.5 measurement campaign took place continuously from June 14, 2023 to April 30, 2024.
The results show an impact of street improvements to schools on pollution: concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) drop by up to 30% around pedestrianized schools.</ p>
On the other hand, on fine PM2.5 particles, the effect is negligible due to weather conditions leading to low levels of pollution.
“Streets and schools work to reduce pollution! This is the first real-time evaluation study carried out in France which demonstrates this!” rejoices Tony Renucci, director of the Respire association.
The Respire association recommends:
- the generalization of street improvements to permanent schools, particularly in the most polluted areas;
- the densification of networks of sensors and micro-sensors of pollution around schools, in order to evaluate the developments;
- government support for the development of streets for schools: legal definition in the local authority code, call for projects to finance developments in the territories, etc.
Full Article (Fr) : Carfree.fr