🔎 What’s going on?
Milan on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan - turn over 35km of streets to cyclists and pedestrians.
🚲 Cool, what does this mean?
The new scheme called “Strade Aperte” or “Open Streets” includes low-cost temporary cycle lanes, new and widened pavements, 20 mph speed limits and pedestrian🚶and cyclists 🚴♀️ priority streets.
As the pandemic lockdown still continues in Europe and many countries around the world, some cities are taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to do things differently. During the Italian nationwide lockdown, traffic congestion has dropped by 30-75% and this has drastically reduced air pollution with it.
Deputy Mayor of Milan, Marco Granelli said this “When it is over, the cities that still have this kind of economy will have an advantage, and Milan wants to be in that category” - with healthier residents! 😇
❓Why should I care?
Air pollution is one of the leading health risks in the world, causing deaths and illness. It’s often called the “silent killer” or the “new tobacco”. Each year 4.2 million deaths occur because of outdoor air pollution alone! The major sources of outdoor pollution include vehicles, power generation, heating systems, burning agriculture/waste and industry. In cities particularly, the transport sector is responsible for the majority of air pollution.
Vehicles give out tiny particulate matter (PM) that are less than 10 or 2.5 microns in diameter (in terms of size, it’s similar to dust, ash or sea-spray) - usually called PM10 and PM2.5 as they burn fuels. Often these small particulates combine with other harmful substances (such as heavy metals) and get deep into our bodies causing lung disease, heart disease and cancer.
🚦 Where do we need to be?
According to the United Nationa (UN), 155 countries have legally put in place legislation that requires them to ensure clean air for their citizens. However, countries are not enforcing these environmental laws (including those relating to clean air). Furthermore, 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guideline limits. So either we need new legislation or for countries to actually enforce and abide by these existing laws. Cities and countries should start bringing in new measures to reduce air pollution as Milan has done.
👤 What can I do about it?
As with most things in life, if you don’t measure it, you won’t know how to improve where you are. So go ahead and check out this free air quality app (IQ Air) to measure your outdoor and indoor air quality. Oh, and it works in any country!