Air Quality in Brno City Parks

Abstract

Parks embody an important element of urban infrastructure and a basic type of public space that shapes the overall character of a city. They form a counterweight to built-up areas and public spaces with paved surfaces. In this context, parks compensate for the lack of natural, open landscapes in cities and thus have a fundamental impact on the quality of life of their inhabitants. For this reason, it is important to consider the quality of the environment in urban parks, air quality in particular. Concentrations of gaseous pollutants, namely, nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3), were measured in parks of Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. Relevant concentration values of PM10 solids were determined continuously via the nephelometric method, followed by gravimetric method-based validation. The results obtained through the measurement of wind direction, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity were used to identify potential sources of air pollution in parks. The “openair” and “openairmaps” packages from the OpenSource software R v. 3.6.2 were employed to analyze the effect of meteorological conditions on air pollution. Local polar concentration maps found use in localizing the most serious sources of air pollution within urban parks. The outcomes of the analyses show that the prevailing amount of the pollution determined at the measuring point most likely originates from the crossroads near the sampled localities. At the monitored spots, the maximum concentrations of pollutants are reached especially during the morning rush hour. The detailed time and spatial course of air pollution in the urban parks were indicated in the respective concentration maps capturing individual pollutants. Significantly increased concentrations of nitrogen oxides were established in a locality situated near a busy road (with the traffic intensity of 33,000 vehicles/d); this scenario generally applied to colder weather. The highest PM10 concentrations were measured at the same location and at an average temperature that proved to be the lowest within the entire set of measurements. In the main city park, unlike other localities, higher concentrations of PM10 were measured in warmer weather; such an effect was probably caused by the park being used to host barbecue parties.

Ambient Air Quality in the Czech Republic

“…In spite of a general belief that green urban areas provide the best air quality within the city, the measurements supporting this claim are mostly lacking. Based on four 14-day campaigns measuring NO, NO 2 , PM 10 , and O 3 levels, Huzlík et al [18] concluded that the air quality in the parks approached that of the urban background sites, except for Koliště park, where similar ambient air pollution levels as at the traffic site were measured.…”

“…Huzlík et al [18] examined the ambient air quality in park areas in Brno, the second largest city of the CR. In spite of a general belief that green urban areas provide the best air quality within the city, the measurements supporting this claim are mostly lacking.…”

Assessment of Soil Contamination with Potentially Toxic Elements and Soil Ecotoxicity of Botanical Garden in Brno, Czech Republic: Are Urban Botanical Gardens More Polluted Than Urban Parks?

“…All the PTEs reached increased values in the southeast part of the botanical garden near a busy crossroad. Such places are highly contaminated with PTEs and other pollutants due to stop-and-go traffic [17,19,46,47]. Road and tram traffic are a likely source of this enrichment with PTEs as one of the main emitters of urban contamination [5,19,48,49].…”

“…They improve city dwellers' living conditions through functions such as climate regulation, sustaining biogeochemical cycles, water flow regulation, runoff mitigation and pollutant retention [6,11,[13][14][15]. UGS are often considered less polluted [16,17] and sometimes even used to determine background values for environmental contamination assessment [18,19]. However, due to their potential to retain and store pollutants, they may become hotspots of accumulated pollution.…”

Kent Parklarının Kullanım Nedenleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma: Amasya Adliye Kent Parkı Örneği

“…Urban open green spaces are generally regarded as being the places that provide the best air quality in a city and as spots where urban dwellers can relax, in addition to supporting the conservation of biodiversity (Lee et al, 2014;Huzlík et al, 2020). Open green lands create an urban setting for public interaction and a venue for recreation, education, and exploration.…”