Urban forests can play a role in cleaning the air and making it healthier for childrenAccording to the World Health Organization, about 91% of the world’s population lives in regions with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of exposure to air pollution. Urban forests can play a critical role in mitigating air pollution, making cities more livable for people and better adapted to climate changes.
This study assessed the air quality, the prevalence of child respiratory morbidity, and the association between them, at five schools in a mid-sized county in Brazil. Researchers assessed the atmospheric pollutants at the schools on a monthly basis from March to November. The schools represented varying distances (50 – 1500 meters) from a major highway. Two schools farthest from the highway were close to avenues of intense vehicular flow. One of these two was close to a municipal park with dense vegetation. Questionnaires -- based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood -- completed by parents or caregivers of children (age 4-5) attending the schools provided information about the children’s respiratory health.
The air quality measurements showed higher concentrations of pollutants at points closer to roadways with intense vehicle flow and lower concentrations at points close to the park with dense vegetation. Children had more respiratory symptoms -- such as wheezing, sneezing, and itchy eyes – in areas with higher levels of pollutants, but the frequency of some symptoms was lower close to the urban forest. The prevalence of some of the symptoms was almost three times lower among children from the school located close to the municipal park.
This research found that traffic-related air pollution in the region studied was positively linked to children’s respiratory health. The findings also showed that “urban forests can play a significant role in air pollution mitigation”. The findings “confirm the importance of creating and maintaining green areas in urban space, considering all ecosystem services provided by them, especially the improvement of air quality.”
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