Work

Air pollution and greenspace exposure disparities revealed by hyperlocal exposure metrics across European cities

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Efforts to map disparities in environmental exposure burdens across populations in varying urban settings are extremely limited. Here, we analyzed disparities in exposure to nitrogen dioxide air pollution and urban greenspaces in Dublin, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, using hyperlocal environmental metrics derived from large-scale digital datasets. In Dublin, racial/ethnic minority groups were exposed to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide and lower levels of greenspace. Furthermore, immigrant populations were exposed to more pollution and less greenspace than natives in Dublin and Copenhagen, whereas the opposite trend was observed in Amsterdam. However, when considering population wealth, inhabitants of low-income areas were exposed to greater levels of greenspace and lower levels of nitrogen dioxide in all cities. These findings demonstrate that population environmental exposures are inconsistent across cities. Our results emphasize the need for city-specific studies of exposure burdens utilizing hyperlocal data to inform the design of sustainable, healthy, and equitable cities of the future. Immigrants in Dublin and Copenhagen experience more air pollution and less greenery than natives, while in Amsterdam, the reverse is true, according to hyperlocal analysis of nitrogen dioxide and greenspace exposure.

Source: Communications Sustainability

DOI: 10.1038/s44458-026-00046-6

Authors: Maria E. S. Sabedotti, Fábio Duarte, Petros Koutrakis, Paolo Santi, Carlo Ratti, Marguerite M. Nyhan