Spatial and temporal dynamics of air pollution and socioeconomic deprivation in Liverpool, UK: A multi-scale analytical approach
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Particulate matter poses a significant public health challenge, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically deprived urban communities. This study delivers a pioneering analysis of air quality dynamics in Liverpool, UK — a city marked by pronounced deprivation gradients — utilizing a high-resolution array of 58 Aeternum sensors deployed across 54 of its 64 wards in 2023. By integrating hourly PM 2.5 , PM 10 , temperature, and humidity data with the Index of Multiple Deprivation and housing typology, we reveal significant spatial disparities amplified by temporal patterns, identified through innovative applications of Singular Value Decomposition, Short-Time Fourier Transform, and k-means clustering. Our findings elucidate the interplay between environmental conditions, urban form, and socioeconomic disadvantage, demonstrating how northern wards with high index of multiple deprivation and dense terraced housing bear elevated PM burdens, while southern suburban areas benefit from natural mitigation. This research, distinguished by its methodological rigor and granular dataset, provides a robust evidence base for targeted interventions to alleviate air pollution’s health impacts in Liverpool’s most vulnerable populations, contributing to national and global discourse on environmental injustice. • 58 sensors mapped Liverpool’s ward-level PM2.5/PM10 in 2023. • Northern deprived wards exceed WHO limits; southern wards cleaner. • SVD/STFT reveal seasonal PM peaks and urban inequalities.
Authors: J.E. Higham, S. Saleh, C.J. Acosta Ramírez
Institution: University of Liverpool
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,250
OpenAlex ID: W4413807582