Estimating Ambient Air Pollution Using Structural Properties of Road Networks

In recent years, the world has become increasingly concerned with air pollution. Particularly in the global north, countries are implementing systems to monitor air pollution on a large scale to aid decision-making, focusing on urban areas. Such efforts are essential but costly and are difficult to implement expediently. In this paper, we demonstrate that we can estimate air pollution using open-source information about the structural properties of roads within the United Kingdom. Our approach makes it possible to implement an inexpensive method of estimating air pollution in the United Kingdom to an accuracy level that can underpin policymakers' decisions while providing an estimate in all regions in the UK, not just urban areas. Impact Statement. We show that a linear regression model using a single structural property -- length of the track and unclassified road network within 0.5\% of districts within England and Wales -- can accurately estimate which regions of the UK are the most polluted. The model presents a low-cost yet effective alternative to more expensive models such as the one currently used by DEFRA in the UK. The model has apparent practical uses for policymakers who want to pursue clean-air initiatives but lack the capital to invest in comprehensive monitoring networks. Its low implementation cost, accessible model design, and worldwide coverage of the dataset provide a basis for implementing systems to estimate air pollution levels in low-income countries.Comment: Main File 19 pages, 10 Figures, 4 Tables. Supplementary File 17 pages, 13 figures, 14 tables. Edited to fix TeX issue