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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 20373

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Man Sing Wong

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Guest Editor

Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: urban heat island effect; urban environmental quality; landslides; vegetation and ecosystems; spectral mixture analysis; aerosol retrieval; air quality monitoring; water vapor retrieval
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The urban environment has long been associated with community health risks. However, quantifying environmental exposure for measuring urban environmental quality is always a challenge, since environmental components of the complex system across the urban environment are interacting with each other. Moreover, failure to quantify the environmental quality can result in a problematic estimation of environmental health risks.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to target the following topics:

1) improvement of exposure assessments for measuring urban environmental quality;

2) linking indoor and outdoor environmental exposures by modelling;

3) novel design to spatially or spatio-temporally estimate urban environmental quality;

4) application of community health assessment with improved data for urban environmental quality.

Dr. Man-sing Wong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

environmental exposures
spatial modelling
community health

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Investigation on the Relationship Between COD Degradation and Hydrodynamic Conditions in Urban Rivers

by Lei Tang, Xiangdong Pan, Jingjie Feng, Xunchi Pu, Ruifeng Liang, Ran Li and Kefeng Li

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(18), 3447; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183447 - 17 Sep 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2100

Abstract

Due to extensive pollution and the relatively weak flow replacement in urban rivers, determining how to fully utilize the self-purification abilities of water bodies for water quality protection has been a complex and popular topic of research and social concern. Organic pollution is an important type of urban river pollution, and COD (chemical oxygen demand) is one of the key pollution factors. Currently, there is a lack of research on the relationship between COD degradation and the flow characteristics of urban rivers. In this paper, COD degradation experiments were conducted in an annular flume with Jinjiang River water at controlled flow velocities and the COD degradation coefficients under different hydraulic conditions were analyzed. A good correlation was observed between the degradation coefficient and hydraulic conditions. According to dimensional analysis, the relationship between the COD degradation coefficient and hydraulic conditions such as the flow velocity, water depth, Reynolds number (Re), and Froude number (Fr) was established as

K_{COD} = 86400 \frac{u}{h} F r^{0.8415} R e^{- 1.2719} + 0.258

. The COD degradation coefficients of the Chishui River in Guizhou Province ranged from 0.175–0.373 1/d based on this formula, and the field-measured values varied from 0.234–0.463 1/d. The error in the formula ranged from 5.4–25.3%. This study provides a scientific basis for the prediction of the COD degradation coefficients of urban rivers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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15 pages, 4130 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Air Quality across Weifang from 2014–2018

by Chengming Li, Zhaoxin Dai, Lina Yang and Zhaoting Ma

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3122; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173122 - 27 Aug 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2582

Abstract

Air pollution has become a severe threat and challenge in China. Focusing on air quality in a heavily polluted city (Weifang Cty), this study aims to investigate spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of air pollution and identify the influence of weather factors on primary pollutants in Weifang over a long period from 2014–2018. The results indicate the annual Air quality Index (AQI) in Weifang has decreased since 2014 but is still far from the standard for excellent air quality. The primary pollutants are O₃ (Ozone), PM₁₀ (Particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm), and PM_2.5 (Particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm); the annual concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 show a significant reduction but that of O₃ is basically unchanged. Seasonally, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 show a U-shaped pattern, while O₃ exhibits inverted U-shaped variations, and different pollutants also present different characteristics daily. Spatially, O₃ exhibits a high level in the central region and a low level in the rural areas, while PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Additionally, the concentration of pollutants is greatly affected by meteorological factors, with PM_2.5 being negatively correlated with temperature and wind speed, while O₃ is positively correlated with the temperature. This research investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of the air pollution and provided important policy advice based on the findings, which can be used to mitigate air pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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17 pages, 4730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Prediction of Increasing Winter Perceived Temperature across a Sub-Tropical City for Sustainable Planning and Climate Change Mitigation

by Hung Chak Ho, Sawaid Abbas, Jinxin Yang, Rui Zhu and Man Sing Wong

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(3), 497; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16030497 - 11 Feb 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3581

Abstract

Climate variability has been documented as being key to influencing human wellbeing across cities as it is linked to mortality and illness due to changes in the perceived weather cycle. Many studies have investigated the impact of summer temperature on human health and have proposed mitigation strategies for summer heat waves. However, sub-tropical cities are still experiencing winter temperature variations. Increasing winter perceived temperature through the decades may soon affect city wellbeing, due to a larger temperature change between normal winter days and extreme cold events, which may cause higher health risk due to lack of adaptation and self-preparedness. Therefore, winter perceived temperature should also be considered and integrated in urban sustainable planning. This study has integrated the increasing winter perceived temperature as a factor for developing spatiotemporal protocols for mitigating the adverse impact of climate change. Land surface temperature (LST) derived from satellite images and building data extracted from aerial photographs were used to simulate the adjusted wind chill equivalent temperature (AWCET) particularly for sub-tropical scenarios between 1990 and 2010 of the Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Compared with perceived temperature based on the representative station located at the headquarters of the Hong Kong Observatory, the temperature of half the study area in the Kowloon Peninsula has raised by 1.5 °C. The areas with less green space and less public open space in 2010 show higher relative temperatures. Socioeconomically deprived areas (e.g., areas with lower median monthly income) may suffer more from this scenario, but not all types of socioeconomic disparities are associated with poor sustainable planning. Based on our results and the “no-one left behind” guideline from the United Nations, climate change mitigation should be conducted by targeting socioeconomic neighborhoods more than just aging communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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21 pages, 8923 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Outdoor Trees Affect Indoor Particulate Matter Dispersion: CFD Simulations in a Naturally Ventilated Auditorium

by Bo Hong, Hongqiao Qin, Runsheng Jiang, Min Xu and Jiaqi Niu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2862; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122862 - 14 Dec 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4440

Abstract

This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, coupling with a standard k-ε model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach and a revised generalized drift flux model, to investigate effects of outdoor trees on indoor PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ dispersion in a naturally ventilated auditorium. Crown volume coverage (CVC) was introduced to quantify outdoor trees. Simulations were performed on various CVCs, oncoming wind velocities and window opening sizes (wall porosities were 3.5 and 7.0%, respectively, for half and fully opened windows). The results were as follows: (1) A vortex formed inside the auditorium in the baseline scenario, and the airflow recirculation created a well-mixed zone with little variation in particle concentrations. There was a noticeable decrease in indoor PM₁₀ with the increasing distance from the inlet boundary due to turbulent diffusion. (2) Assuming that pollution sources were diluted through the inlet, average indoor particle concentrations rose exponentially with increasing oncoming wind speed. PM₁₀ changed most significantly due to turbulent diffusion and surface deposition reduction intensified by the increased wind velocity. (3) Increasing the window opening improved indoor cross-ventilation, thus reducing indoor particle concentrations. (4) When 2.87 m³/m² ≤ CVC ≤ 4.73 m³/m², indoor PM_2.5 could meet requirements of the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines (IT-3) for 24-hour mean concentrations; and (5) average indoor particle concentrations had positive correlations with natural ventilation rates (R² = 0.9085, 0.961, 0.9683 for PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀, respectively, when the wall porosity was 3.5%; R² = 0.9158, 0.9734, 0.976 for PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀, respectively, when the wall porosity was 7.0%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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20 pages, 16758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial and Temporal Variations of Six Criteria Air Pollutants in Fujian Province, China

by Weicong Fu, Ziru Chen, Zhipeng Zhu, Qunyue Liu, Cecil C. Konijnendijk Van den Bosch, Jinda Qi, Mo Wang, Emily Dang and Jianwen Dong

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2846; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122846 - 13 Dec 2018

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4053

Abstract

Air pollution has become a critical issue in the urban areas of southeastern China in recent years. A complete understanding of the tempo-spatial characteristics of air pollution can help the public and governmental bodies manage their lives and work better. In this study, data for six criteria air pollutants (including particulate matter (PM_2.5, PM₁₀), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ozone (O₃)) from 37 sites in nine major cities within Fujian Province, China were collected between January 2015 to December 2016, and analyzed. We analyzed the spatial and temporal variations of these six criteria pollutants, as well as the attainment rates, and identified what were the major pollutants. Our results show that: (1) the two-year mean values of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ exceeded the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) standard I levels, whereas other air pollutants were below the CAAQS standard I; (2) the six criteria air pollutants show spatial variations (i.e. most air pollutants were higher in the city center areas, followed by suburban areas and exurban areas, except for O₃; and the concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, O₃ were higher in coastal cities than in inland cities); (3) seasonal variations and the no attainment rates of air pollutants were found to be higher in cold seasons and lower in warm seasons, except for O₃; (4) the most frequently present air pollutant was PM₁₀, with PM_2.5 and O₃ being the second and third most frequent, respectively; (5) all the air pollutants, except O₃, showed positive correlations with each other. These results provide additional information for the effective control of air pollution in the province of Fujian. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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13 pages, 1178 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Heat Events on the Composition of Airborne Bacterial Communities in Urban Ecosystems

by Zhiguo Fang, Weijun Guo, Junwen Zhang and Xiuqin Lou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(10), 2295; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102295 - 19 Oct 2018

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2948

Abstract

Airborne bacteria are significantly affected by meteorological and environmental conditions. However, there is little quantitative data available on the effects of these factors on airborne bacteria in urban ecosystems. In the present study, we analyzed weather-dependent changes in the composition of airborne bacterial communities using high throughput sequencing. Samples were collected before and after a period of constant hot weather at four selected sampling sites (YRBS, ZJGUSJC, TJCR, and BLQG) in Hangzhou. Our results show that the average amount of bacterial 16S rRNA gene copy numbers per m³ of air decreased significantly after constant high temperature. In addition, the number of operational taxonomic units and the Shannon–Wiener diversity indexes of the samples at all four selected sampling sites were significantly decreased after the heat event, showing notable impact on bacterial diversity. We also detected a significant increase in the abundances of spore-forming bacteria. Firmicutes increased from 3.7% to 9.9%, Bacillales increased from 2.6% to 7.6%, and Bacillaceae increased from 1.5% to 5.9%. In addition, we observed an increase in beta-Proteobacteria (18.2% to 50.3%), Rhodocyclaceae (6.9% to 29.9%), and Burkholderiaceae (8.1% to 15.2%). On the other hand, the abundance of alpha-Proteobacteria (39.6% to 9.8%), Caulobacteraceae (17.9% to 0.5%), Sphingomonadaceae (7.2% to 3.3%), and Xanthomonadaceae (3.0% to 0.5%) was significantly lower. Taken together, our data suggest that the composition of airborne bacterial communities varies greatly dependent on heat events, and that such communities include several species that are highly susceptible to high-temperature related stressors such as high air temperature, low relative humidity, and high intensity of solar radiation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Quality)

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