Usage, Usability, and Utility of 3D City Models – European COST Action TU0801
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One of the major challenges to urban sustainability is the threat posed by air pollution, being exposure to ambient air pollutants associated with a high rate of premature deaths. Therefore, the study of the exposure of people, and in particular of vulnerable population groups such as children, to air pollution is a subject of paramount importance. In this paper a CFD model is used to simulate the particulate matter personal exposure of students in their school routine (both daily walk to and permanence in school). Under the concept of COST TU0801, the usability of a 3D city model is evaluated. The analysis was carried out for 4 children, with 4 alternative walking routes to school and using 4 different classrooms. Results indicate that the individual exposure of children is extremely spatially dependent, as a consequence of the wind flow and air pollutant dispersion patterns.