I ENVIRONMENT
Pandemic and Urban planning By: Laila Alawneh
Associate Urban Designer Design + Planning and Economics AECOM, Dubai
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The frequency and severity of pandemics cannot be predicted, but it is a known fact that pollution and poor air quality has a negative impact on our immune systems. Air pollution in some cities across the world is less than half of what it was a year ago according to new data that has been documenting the impact of the lockdown as a result of Covid -19. Paris has seen nitrogen dioxide drop by 54 percent, while Madrid, Milan and Rome have seen a drop of nearly 50 percent according to scientists from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, who have been monitoring air pollution over Europe using data from the Tropomi instrument aboard the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite.
