Paper Title: Indoor Air Quality and Urban Planning: a short case study
Paper available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391212930_Indoor_Air_Quality_and_Urban_Planning_a_short_case_study?channel=doi&linkId=680e3525ded43315573bbfd7&showFulltext=true
Sensor readable at: Raw PM2.5 Air Quality Interactive Map by PurpleAir
This case study considers the common (but little recognized) indoor air quality problem in a dwelling situated above a commercial restaurant in an existing mixed-use tenement (housing block) building in Edinburgh, Scotland. Given the dearth of research data on this commercial/domestic interaction, this case study sheds light on what may be a pervasive health issue affecting many mixed-use buildings.
A citizen science approach is based on a single data source (levels of PM2.5) rather than wide area data collection. Odours (from cooking) are the usual issue which arise for environmental health departments, but this case study demonstrates that even after an odour problem has been resolved, high levels of PM2.5 persist that are significantly above recommended WHO levels. The question arises about what additional government advise, regulation and enforcement are needed to deal with this combination of shared commercial/domestic space.
An inhabitant perspective is provided on a health issue created by living in a mixed-use building above a commercial restaurant and its kitchen. Poor indoor air quality (PM2.5) caused by cooking seeps into the dwelling and is found to be significantly above safe health limits. However, there is little in planning control or other public health regulation to prevent this from occurring or to provide redress. Clearer definitions of indoor air quality are needed along with guidance and enforcement to ensure that when changes of use occur (e.g. the permission for a restaurant), that negative health impacts for surrounding dwellings are minimised.