D.C. Air Quality Concerns in Urban Planning
Introduction
Air quality is a huge concern for communities, however assessing its effects purely using quantitative methods may not be the most honest representation. In the US, air quality standards are set through the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with criteria pollutants measured against a tedious averaging procedure. As pollutants interact with the atmosphere, concentrations can change. To account for this, the EPA sets limits based on the highest averaged window of time. For businesses, state/local governments, and parties most sensitive to health effects of pollutants, this method may be of concern. By averaging pollution during a portion of the day and only taking the maximum of those calculations, air quality may be under-rated for safe levels. To show these discrepancies, our team compared different measurement techniques that better represented communities and forecast future pollution levels.
This project was submitted as part of the 2020 UMD Data Challenge. All the code and associated files are contained in my GitHub repository and can be found at: https://github.com/Argentum133/DC-Air-Quality
Testing sites
The testing sites are located across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia and include a variety of urban areas of interest including schools, residences, and major industrial zones.
| Site Address | City | Location Type |
|---|---|---|
| 6507 Columbia Pike | Annendale, VA | Fairfax Government Office |
| Cub Run Lee Rd | Chantilly, VA | Industrial Parkway Next to Dulles Airport |
| 12003 Old Baltimore Pike | Beltsville, MD | USDA Farm Research Area |
| 1437 Balls Hill Rd | McLean, VA | Police Department Next to Highway |
| 6100 Arlington Blvd | Seven Corners, VA | Shopping Plaza Next to Highway |
| 420 34th Street N.E. | Washington D.C. | Elementary School Next to Baltimore-Washington Parkway |
| 517 N St Asaph St | Alexandria, VA | Residential Housing Area |
| 600 Dorsey Avenue | Essex, MD | Senior Residents Center |