Urban transport and local air quality management in Great Britain

Urban environments are subjected to a number of environmental stresses due to the preponderance of trips made in urban environments by private means of transport. In the case of air quality, private transport sources are major contributors to emissions of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulates and VOCs. Furthermore, road transports air quality impacts were poorly managed by the system in operation prior to the Environment Act 1995. This paper will review the strategic framework for air quality management introduced into Great Britain by the Environment Act, 1995 which is designed to manage air quality at the level of the local authority. Given that the major urban impacts are transport related, the short term gains in air quality are expected to arise from the use of technical fixes at the individual vehicle level. However, the benefits of technical fixes will operate for a limited period before traffic growth negates the benefit. Therefore, it is essential that local government responsibilities such as land use planning, transportation planning and economic development are effectively integrated into a unified planning and decision making system if the necessary long term gains in air quality are to be achieved. There is little evidence that the integration of these functions within local authorities is sufficiently well advanced to enable effective management of local air quality to occur in the future.