HedgeDATE: Hedge design for the abatement of traffic emissions

The many positive aspects of green infrastructure (GI), such as trees and hedges, for public health are evident. Appropriately designed and managed hedges, in particular, can act as a barrier between pedestrians and traffic emissions. Greening cities for healthier urban living is considered to be a priority in many cities worldwide, but guidelines for the deployment of GI in urban areas remain unclear for the general public, urban planners, and other stakeholders. The development and dissemination of clear and freely accessible advice on GI implementation, in a format that utilises contemporary means of information-sharing, can only be addressed through a multidisciplinary approach.

Hosted by GCARE and funded by the University of Surrey’s Urban Living Award, the HedgeDATE^TM (Hedge Design for the Abatement of Traffic Emissions) project fosters collaboration between numerous research areas – including air pollution, GI engineering, environmental sustainability, mathematical modelling, computer science, physical and mental health, and environmental psychology – in order to address the complex issue of urban air pollution, and raise awareness of health-related implications and sustainable mitigation strategies.

The aim of the HedgeDATE^TM project is to establish an interdisciplinary, university-wide alliance to refine and disseminate compendious advice on GI implementation for improved air quality. In particular, we will design and construct a web-based application that will incorporate Surrey-led research findings on GI design for air pollution abatement, and which end-users can consult for context- and species-specific advice in the form of output data, based upon user-directed input data (e.g. planting space, distance from road, road classification, etc).

Some of our immediate objectives are to:

• Aggregate findings from ongoing and previous research on the relationship between GI, air quality and human exposure.
• Construct a long term product development plan, which will include (a) using Guildford as a pilot study area to develop the HedgeDATE^TM prototype and seek feedback, before (b) enhancing the applicability of the tool and targeting potential beneficiaries in other communities.
• Develop the underlying methodology (including the logic of the model, atmospheric chemistry projections and recommended vegetation species) as well as the perceptible structure or interface of the tool.
• Respond to relevant research funding calls, in order to support longer term collaboration and refinement of the HedgeDATE^TM tool.