This paper is a conceptual analysis of the effects of racial residential segregation, which is a major contributor to racial and ethnic health disparities. Metropolitan segregation has had adverse health consequences for economically disadvantaged and minority populations because they are exposed to higher levels of environmental pollutants and have limited opportunities to gain a quality educa...

The infiltration of urban runoff always implies an entrance of pollutants into the soil and ground water. Due to legal regulations in many communes there is no longer any permission needed for stormwater infiltration, if administrative regulations and the requirements of standards are observed. The results of a research project carried out under the heading "Development of an assessment procedu...

Air quality data (ground level ozone (O3), NO, NOx, SO2, CO, H2S and NH3) of two Kuwaiti urban areas adjacent to petroleum processing facilities, Fahaheel and Al-Riqa, were analyzed and compared to evaluate: (1) the exceedances of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KUEPA) air quality limits, (2) primary air pollution sources and their contribution to the ambient load, (3) diurnal patterns...

The House Sparrow is a globally distributed species and is closely associated with anthropised environments. They are well-adapted to urban life; therefore the decline of their populations in Europe represents an unexpected event that demands an investigation into its causes. Causes that have promoted this decline are not well-known, but one of the highlighted hypotheses is an increase of oxida...

I study the optimal design of marketable permit systems to regulate various pollutants (e.g., air pollution in urban areas) when the regulator lives in a real world of imperfect information and incomplete enforcement. I show that the regulator should have pollution markets integrated through optimal exchange rates when the marginal-abatement cost curves in the different markets are steeper than...

P otential water pollution associated with melting snow are a concern to watershed managers in northern climates. In fact, in some urban areas, substantial portions of the annual load of pollutants such as hydrocarbons, metals, solids, nutrients, and chlorides come from snowmelt and early spring runoff events. Thus the annual cycle of pollutant build-up and subsequent release during snowmelt ca...

Air pollution has emerged as a serious problem affecting health and environment. Out of many pollutants Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas is considered as a silent and lethal killer. In large urban areas such as Delhi, the CO emissions from the Transport sector pose unprecedented risks to the commuters and inhabitants. In order to eradicate the adverse impact of CO pollution, there exists a need for an ...

Urban areas typically have a high degree of impervious surfaces— that is, roads, parking lots, rooftops, and other surfaces that impede the movement of water into the soil. In predevelopment areas with natural ground cover, over half of precipitation infiltrates the soil to replenish groundwater tables, and only a small amount (10%) remains as runoff into stormwater systems, rivers, and lakes. ...

This work illustrates the use and some results of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for data quality control of air pollutants. ANNs are applied to the short-term predicting of air pollutant concentrations in urban areas. Observed versus predicted data are compared to test the efficacy of ANNs in simulating environmental processes. Statistical analysis is used for choice of neural structure. Th...

Rows of tall buildings can create a unique urban habitat known as a street canyon. These canyons trap traffic pollutants, limiting their dispersal into the atmospheric boundary layer that extends as high as 2,000 meters above the ground. A new study suggests that vegetation in street canyons may reduce air-pollutant concentrations much more than previously reported and suggests innovative plant...