A_Martin Assignment 1.3: Reading Response

Tigard Air Quality and Urban Ecological Design Study

Philip Speranza

1. It’d be hard because of all the variables involved, but I’d love to see an experimental study of the efficacy of some of these measures. For instance, the green screen or the “Your PM” display. They make a lot of sense, and it’d be really powerful to have that data to show to the school community.
2. I’m also curious about how the levels observed relate to recommended levels for children. Are these levels high? And is there data on what kinds of pollution trends are cause for concern (i.e. spikes vs. waves)? I know with things like noise pollution, acute spikes are actually less of a concern than moderately high, extended exposure. What’s the dynamic with air pollution?
3. The highway is a real challenge. If the main polluter were a local road, we would just say that we should pedestrianize it. But no one would argue in favor of shutting down 217. Given that fact, we can inform parents and foster advocacy, but what exactly are we advocating for?

Recommendations for Reducing Air Pollution Exposure in Barcelona

Laia Font-Ribera, et al.

1. It’s worth noting that in the five years since this report, Barcelona actually has reduced overall vehicularization of the city. It is now at levels below the EU maximum according to this article in La Vanguardia.
2. Most of these recommendations make a lot of sense. The one that loses me is advocating for flexible start hours for schools. That would be an administrative nightmare to have children required to start at different times of the morning or, even worse, not being required to start at a given time.
3. The recommendation for less-polluted walking routes makes a lot of sense in Barcelona because it is so pedestrianized. Applying these recommendations to Tigard, I wonder if this works given that it appears that the whole area around the school is quite polluted.