IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Environmental quality is an important factor shaping the livability in the urban environment. Therefore, current urban design practice should respond to the challenges related to climate change and environmental degradation. One of the most significant environmental problems in urban areas is poor air quality. Air pollution, being listed by the experts from the World Health Organization among ten most urgent threats to global health, considerably reduces life expectancy of the urban residents. Appropriate urban design solutions affect the wind environment and can lead to the improvement of local air quality. The aim of the study was to explore and strengthen air quality and ventilation management as a part of the neighborhood design practice. Case studies were conducted for selected urban neighborhoods in the cities of Gdańsk, Poznań and Warsaw, Poland, characterized by varied morphologies and air quality conditions. The aim was to investigate the relationship between the spatial configuration of the built environment, including the vegetation system, and the ventilation conditions. An interdisciplinary, scale-adaptive approach, including geographic information system (GIS) tools and environmental simulations was used. The results revealed some local phenomena related to urban ventilation but, more importantly, they also brought a more general understanding of urban air quality and ventilation management by means of urban planning tools. With healthy urban neighborhood design in mind, the ways to effectively integrate air quality indicators with livability measures were explored. Specific practical planning and design recommendations were formulated and a decision-support platform for local neighborhood planning and greening was also proposed.