Urban transportation externalities are a key development challenge. Based on the existing literature, the authors illustrate the magnitudes of various external costs, review response policies, and measure and discuss their selection, particularly focusing on the context of developing countries. They find that regulatory policy instruments aimed at reducing local air pollution have been introduc...

In almost all urban contexts and in many extra-urban conurbations, where road traffic is the main noise pollution source, the use of barriers is not allowed. In these cases, low-noise road surfaces are the most used mitigation action together with traffic flow reduction. Selecting the optimal surface is only the first problem that the public administration has to face. In the second place, it h...

Abstract: This study built a model with DVI, which is computed by near-infrared and red bands of SPOT-5 image, and observed concentration of PM10 (inhalable particulate matter) to retrieve concentration of PM10 in SPOT-5 image of Beijing urban acquired in 2007. Spatial distribution trends of PM10 are basically identical between retrieved result and observed data. In 2007, inhalable particulate ...

Over the past several years there has been a broad effort towards realizing the Digital Earth, which involves the digitization of all earth-related data and the organization of these data into common repositories for wide access. Recently the idea has been proposed to go beyond these first steps and produce a Visual Earth, where a main goal is a comprehensive visual query and data exploration s...

for the purpose of assessing zargandeh waste water treatment risks, preliminary risk assessment and evaluation of safety were conducted. for this purpose air pollution and visual impact were assessed and scored after identifying the activities and various water treatment processes, equipment, and staff positions and the amount of pollution due to wastewater treatment plant. values were measured...

Quantifying spatial distribution patterns of air pollutants is imperative to understand environmental justice issues. Here we present a landscape-based hierarchical approach in which air pollution variables are regressed against population demographics on multiple spatiotemporal scales. Using this approach, we investigated the potential problem of distributive environmental justice in the Phoen...

Some studies indicate that noise sensitivity is explained by negative affect, a dispositional tendency to negatively evaluate situations and the self. Individuals high in such traits may report a greater sensitivity to other sensory stimuli, such as smell, bright light and pain. However, research investigating the relationship between noise sensitivity and sensitivity to stimuli associated with...

Human actions are changing many of the world's natural environmental systems, including the climate system. These systems are intrinsic to life processes and fundamental to human health, and their disruption and depletion make it more difficult to tackle health inequalities. Indeed, we will not achieve the UN millennium development health goals if environmental destruction continues. Health pro...

Previous studies have shown both health and environmental benefits of green spaces, especially in moderating temperature and reducing air pollution. However, the characteristics of green structures have been overlooked in previous investigations. In addition, the mediation effects of green structures on respiratory mortality have not been assessed. This study explores the potential mediation pa...

Particulate Matter (PM) is a form of air pollution that visually degrades urban scenery and is hazardous to human health and the environment. Current monitoring devices are limited in measuring average PM over large areas. Quantifying the visual effects of haze in digital images of urban scenery and correlating these effects to PM levels is a vital step in more practically monitoring our enviro...