1.3_READING_TORRES

April 8, 2025 · by ttorres3 · in S1.3 Reading

It seems that the combination of short-term and long-term strategies are very powerful when proceeding to inform and act on combating air pollution near sensitive areas like schools. I am curious to know if there are any informative strategies that will impact the public and all of its scales, left, right, up, and down. Are there different measures or means of information tactics that will affect or attract the people of our country that are more inclined to ignore their impact on the worlds pollution?
A strong and cohesive workflow between the design team, city planners, and school staff seems to be very necessary when trying to inspire young kids and their parents about their PM outputs during school hours. Although this just may be a short-term strategy, I think it is important to inspire these kids to be conscious of their PM output, I know that I never was aware of the PM output of my family or my city growing up in school. Are there ways to easily implement these sensors near every single school? And have real time data readily available to teachers to inform students and parents? What about money? How will schools and cities with low income rates and poverty be able to afford these inputs and outputs for their safety?

Increasing green walls and fences around schools, say their courtyards or glazing facades, will also provide more than just protection of PM from the kids. I could see the students also having improved mental health when looking out the window and seeing green plants and ivy, especially compared to those schools who are in the middle of a concrete jungle, or even smaller towns outside of the city with more pavement than green spaces. One questions brought up was who would maintain these plants and green walls to ensure and promote the filtration attributes of the plants themselves, how much money would that cost each year? Could the schools afford it? Would there be ways to promote the maintenance through the students? Via afterschool programs or classes that teach them about maintenance of plants and even crops?
Promoting biking to class, with parents and kids, can be effective when the school is located in a desired proximity, and in a place with little to no elevation change. At the same time, some of these bike lanes are directly next to the busy street, like in Eugene, biking to campus often means you are biking right next to cars (depending on your route). Would it be efficient to also apply barriers along the bike paths, like small tree tunnels or green fences? How can we create barriers along these bike routes for everyone coming in all directions, as well as on an already existing trail?