Using Smart City Tools to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Low Emissions Zone in Spain: Madrid Central

Abstract

Population concentration in cities brings new risks as an increase in pollution, which causes urban health problems. In order to address this problem, traffic reduction measures are being implemented as pedestrianization areas; they are the definition of Low Emissions Zones (LEZs). When the effectiveness of these types of measures is in doubt, smart city tools provide data that can be used to scientifically asses their impact. This article analyzes the situation of Madrid Central (Spain), a LEZ subject to controversy. We apply statistical and regression analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of this measure to reduce air pollution and outdoor noise. According to the results, this LEZ was able to significantly reduce NO 2 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 concentration locally, having the same positive impact in the rest of the city. In terms of noise, this measure was able to mitigate background noise levels generated by road traffic.

Air Pollution, Oxidative Stress, and the Risk of Development of Type 1 Diabetes

“…Platforms integrating 5G connection with blockchain technologies for IoT are also widely discussed solutions in terms of advanced, intelligent, and efficient systems to optimize operations between machines, computers, and people [ 119 , 120 ]. In a broader perspective, the aforementioned solutions would allow the creation of “Smart Cities”, where modern technologies, including IoT, would be combined to solve communication, infrastructure, social, and pollution problems, aiming at improving the quality of life of metropolitan inhabitants [ 121 , 122 , 123 ].…”

Multiobjective design of sustainable public transportation systems

“…Most of these methods predict the air pollution concentration giving the previous pollution concentration and other external conditions, such as the weather. It has been shown that Urban road mobility affects air quality [22,23]. Thus, different approaches based on ANNs model the air pollution according to the current road traffic density [24].…”

CITIES: Ibero-American Research Network for Sustainable, Efficient, and Integrated Smart Cities

“…Some of the most relevant researches and published articles include the energy efficiency studies via computational intelligence for electricity demand forecasting in industrial and residential sectors [9]; IoT developments, such as the proposal of smart bus stops for increasing social inclusiveness and quality of life of elders [10]; electric mobility, such as a power supply solution for electric trains [11]; waste management in modern smart cities [12]; pollution and air quality, such as assessing the effectiveness of low emissions zones [13]; and sustainable mobility in public transportation [14].…”