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Veröffentlichung Public health impacts of city policies to reduce climate change: findings from the URGENCHE EU-China project(2016) Sabel, Clive E.; Hiscock, Rosemary; Asikainen, Arja; Tobollik, MyriamBackground: Climate change is a global threat to health and wellbeing. Here we provide findings of an international research project investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments. Methods: Five European and two Chinese city authorities and partner academic organisations formed the project consortium. The methodology involved modelling the impact of adopted urban climate-change mitigation transport, buildings and energy policy scenarios, usually for the year 2020 and comparing them with business as usual (BAU) scenarios (where policies had not been adopted). Carbon dioxide emissions, health impacting exposures (air pollution, noise and physical activity), health (cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and leukaemia) and wellbeing (including noise related wellbeing, overall wellbeing, economic wellbeing and inequalities) were modelled. The scenarios were developed from corresponding known levels in 2010 and pre-existing exposure response functions. Additionally there were literature reviews, three longitudinal observational studies and two cross sectional surveys. Results: There are four key findings. Firstly introduction of electric cars may confer some small health benefits but it would be unwise for a city to invest in electric vehicles unless their power generation fuel mix generates fewer emissions than petrol and diesel. Second, adopting policies to reduce private car use may have benefits for carbon dioxide reduction and positive health impacts through reduced noise and increased physical activity. Third, the benefits of carbon dioxide reduction from increasing housing efficiency are likely to be minor and co-benefits for health and wellbeing are dependent on good air exchange. Fourthly, although heating dwellings by in-home biomass burning may reduce carbon dioxide emissions, consequences for health and wellbeing were negative with the technology in use in the cities studied. Conclusions: The climate-change reduction policies reduced CO2 emissions (the most common greenhouse gas) from cities but impact on global emissions of CO2 would be more limited due to some displacement of emissions. The health and wellbeing impacts varied and were often limited reflecting existing relatively high quality of life and environmental standards in most of the participating cities; the greatest potential for future health benefit occurs in less developed or developing countries. Quelle: www.ehjournal.biomedcentral.comVeröffentlichung Air pollution at human scales in an urban environment(2019) Schneidemesser, Erika von; Gerwig, Holger; Steinmar, Kristina; Weatherhead, Elizabeth C.Air pollution is a global challenge causing millions of premature deaths annually. This is limited not only to developing, but also developed nations, with cities in particular struggling to meet air quality limit values to adequately protect human health. Total exposure to air pollution is often disproportionately affected by the relatively short amount of time spent commuting or in the proximity of traffic. In this exploratory work, we conducted measurements of particle number concentrations using a DiscMini by bicycle. Eighteen tracks with accompanying video footage were analyzed and a suite of factors classified and quantified that influence exposure to air pollution. A method was developed to account for variations in the ambient average concentrations per trip that allowed for comparison across all tracks. Large differences in ultra-localized air pollution levels were identified and quantified for factors such as street type, environmental surroundings, and vehicle type. The occurrence of one or more non-passenger car vehicles, including e.g., buses, mopeds, or trucks, result in an increase in particulate concentrations of 30% to 40% relative to the average ambient level. High traffic situations, such as traffic jams or cars waiting at traffic lights, result in increased particulate concentrations (+47% and +35%, respectively). Cycling in residential neighborhoods decreased particulate number concentrations by 17% relative to the ambient average level, and by 22% when cycling through green spaces or parks. Such information is valuable for citizens who may want to reduce their air pollution exposure when moving through a city, but also for policy makers and urban planners who make or influence infrastructure decisions, to be able to reduce exposure and better protect human health, while progress is made to reduce air pollution levels overall. © 2019 The AuthorsVeröffentlichung Entwicklung eines Frühwarnsystems für die Berliner Unterhavel(2019) Seis, Wolfgang; Meier, Sebastian; Osaki, Mikio; Szewzyk, RegineIm Zuge des Forschungsprojektes FLUSSHYGIENE wurden Bewirtschaftungsinstrumente entwickelt, die aus hygienischer Sicht ein sicheres Baden in Flüssen ermöglichen. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Rahmenbedingungen und den Aufbau eines Frühwarnsystems an der Berliner Unterhavel vor. Das System besteht aus einem numerischen Modell zur Vorhersage der Wasserqualität sowie der Definition von Entscheidungskriterien, ab denen vor Gewässerverunreinigungen gewarnt wird. In Berlin konnten funktionierende Modelle mit Hilfe frei verfügbarer Daten aufgebaut und über drei Jahre validiert werden. Im Jahr 2018 wurde die aufgebaute Webseite von rund 50 000 Nutzern besucht. Im Rahmen der verlängerten Projektlaufzeit wird der für Berlin aufgebaute Prototyp durch eine verbesserte Visualisierung und eine robustere Ausgestaltung der Datenübertragung weiterentwickelt. Ergebnisse sind für Ende Oktober 2019 zu erwarten. In: Korrespondenz Wasserwirtschaft : KW ; Organ der DWA ; Wasser, Boden, Natur - 12 (2019), Heft 9, Seite 518