City dwellers want to keep clean barrier air – Radar

The closures across Europe have led to a drastic reduction in air pollution from traffic and other sources in many cities. In China, it has now become clear how quickly pollution can pick up if the restrictive measures are reduced.

According to a survey of 7,545 city dwellers in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain and Belgium, a large majority of European urbanites want to avoid such a scenario. Nearly two in three people (64 percent) say they do not want to return to the levels of pollutants before the closure.

About the same percentage (68 percent) agree that cities should take action to protect citizens from air pollution, even if they call for a ban on polluting cars from inner cities. Remarkably, there is also a majority of 63% among motorists themselves.

Public space and transport

An even larger majority (74 percent) voted for interventions in public spaces in favour of footy, cycling and public transport. Hardly any tenth is against such interventions.

Due to the potential risk of contamination, there is a reluctance to use public transport with regular bus and train users. Hygiene turns out to be a dealbreaker: four out of five people (81 percent) who used mainly public transport before the pandemic are willing to return, but a large majority only do so if sufficient hygiene measures are taken to prevent contamination with Covid-19.

Tasted by clean air

“People have taken a deep breath and tasted clean air, and they want to keep it,” says Sascha Marschang, Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). “The invisible killer has become visible: air pollution has made us sick, exacerbated the pandemic and hit the most needy. The development of a pollution-free transport system in cities to reduce inequality cannot wait any longer.”

William Todts, director of the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), also sees the survey results as a clear signal. “Europeans are calling for more cycle lanes, safer public transport and less polluting cars,” he says. “The mayors of Paris, Brussels and London are building on this strong public support by expanding cycle lanes and establishing low-emission zones. The challenge now is to make these temporary sustainable measures permanent, replace polluting vehicles with common electric vehicles and allow other cities to follow suit.”

The closures across Europe have led to a drastic reduction in air pollution from traffic and other sources in many cities. In China, it has now become clear how quickly pollution can pick up if the restrictive measures are reduced. According to a survey of 7,545 city dwellers in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain and Belgium, a large majority of European urbanites want to avoid such a scenario. Nearly two in three people (64 percent) say they do not want to return to the levels of pollutants before the closure. About the same percentage (68 percent) agree that cities should take action to protect citizens from air pollution, even if they call for a ban on polluting cars from inner cities. Remarkably, there is also a majority of 63% among motorists themselves. An even larger majority (74 percent) voted for interventions in public spaces in favour of footy, cycling and public transport. Hardly any tenth is against such interventions. Due to the potential risk of contamination, there is a reluctance to use public transport with regular bus and train users. Hygiene turns out to be a dealbreaker: four out of five people (81 percent) who used mainly public transport before the pandemic are ready to return, but a large majority only do so if sufficient hygiene measures are taken to prevent contamination with Covid-19.” People have taken a deep breath and tasted clean air, and they want to keep it,” says Sascha Marschang. , Secretary-General of the European Alliance for Public Health (EPHA). “The invisible killer has become visible: air pollution has made us sick, exacerbated the pandemic and hit the most needy. Designing a pollutant-free transport system in cities to reduce inequality cannot wait any longer.” William Todts, director of the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), also sees the survey results as a clear signal. “Europeans are calling for more cycle lanes, safer public transport and less polluting cars,” he says. “The mayors of Paris, Brussels and London are building on this strong public support by expanding cycle lanes and establishing low-emission zones. The challenge now is to make these temporary sustainable measures permanent, replace polluting vehicles with common electric vehicles and allow other cities to follow suit.”