Project Description:

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), an air pollutant, harms human health upon inhalation and leads to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and death. It is well established that communities of color and impoverished communities are exposed to higher levels of air pollution than white and high-income communities on a national scale. However, Kansas City has never been assessed for these disparities despite its history of systemic racism. Preliminary evidence suggests that non-white demographics in Kansas City are exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 pollution than white communities. However, the sources behind this pollution disparity are not known or characterized. The objective of this work is to quantify the extent to which transportation emissions cause the observed PM2.5 disparity in Kansas City through the use of emissions inventory information and air quality models. Additionally, we will quantify the impact of various vehicle fleet electrification adoption scenarios on reducing socioeconomic pollution disparities, an analysis that will be useful to local planning organizations interested in pursuing actions that promote both equity in air quality and reductions in carbon emissions.

By identifying critical areas for pollution mitigation and quantifying pollution disparity savings through infrastructure investments, this project supports the DOT priority to improve the equity of transportation infrastructure, and it will provide guidance to planning organizations seeking to minimize negative impacts of transportation investments. In addition, this project supports the DOT’s Climate and Sustainability strategic goal by providing evidence for the emissions benefits of electrifying transportation systems, which will improve air quality and reduce carbon footprint.

 
_{Figure 1. Schematic showing how traffic emissions may be responsible for observed particulate matter disparities along racial lines in Kansas City.} 

US DOT Priorities:

This proposal primarily supports the Equity strategic goal laid out in the FY 2022-2026 US DOT Strategic Plan. This data will support the goals of the DOT to support a more just and equitable transportation system by identifying and quantifying inequities across communities impacted by transportation. Our project will reveal the source sectors of emissions that lead to disparities in PM2.5, specifically transportation-related sources. The outputs generated here can be used to inform decisions that reduce transportation-related pollution disparities and their associated negative impacts on public health. This information is critical to developing transportation system improvements that prioritize the reduction of pollution disparities and work to invest in the underserved communities which are most greatly impacted by air pollution. This work supports the measurement and quantification of equity impacts, ensuring that planning organizations have the vital information necessary to understand how various projects impact underserved communities. In addition, the results from this proposal support the Climate and Sustainability strategic goal by providing evidence for the emissions benefits of electrifying transportation systems, which will improve air quality and simultaneously reduce carbon footprint. Even though our main focus here is not on carbon emissions or climate, the reduction in carbon emissions that are coincident with reductions in tailpipe emissions of other pollutants are a co-benefit of our electrification analysis.

Outputs:

This project will produce new research into air pollution disparities in Kansas City, an analysis that is increasingly critical to all transportation planning decisions yet has not been performed for this region. We will produce new datasets, descriptions of and code for the associated analysis methods, maps of the most impacted Census tracts, and a scientific publication on our findings. We will publish our processed data that combines observational and modeled information with demographic information, as well as full model input and analysis scripts. We will also produce a peer-reviewed publication describing the findings of this research. This publication will be open-access and thus available to any interested city planners or members of the public. In addition, in-progress results will be presented at the premier national conference for aerosol research, the American Association for Aerosol Research Annual Conference. All data, methods, model input files, and analysis codes will be provided free of charge in a publicly available Zenodo repository, which is commonly used in air quality research. All data will be released alongside publication of the findings in a reputable, peer-reviewed journal.

Outcomes/Impacts:

We expect to find that transportation emissions are a major source of socioeconomic PM2.5 disparities in the KCMA. The output from this project can be used to inform metropolitan planning organizations about where to focus investments and changes in the metro’s transportation infrastructure to reduce PM2.5 disparities that occur along socioeconomic lines. In addition, this research will inform planners about the benefits of electrification on public health and equity, a potential strategy for reducing pollution disparities. This will positively impact the transportation system, as investments in infrastructure modernization, including cleaner public transportation and electrification, will not only improve public health endpoints, but can also contribute to Kansas City’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Over time, this will result in economic benefit from increased public health and climate savings. 

• Transportation Infrastructure Development and Improvement: This project will showcase the role that traffic emissions play in air pollution disparities in Kansas City. By identifying the major sources of PM2.5 disparities, infrastructure can be developed and improved to mitigate these disparities. For example, focusing on fleet electrification can allow for pathways to reduce PM2.5 and its precursor gas emissions in the neighborhoods most impacted by traffic emissions.
• Policy Changes: Policymakers and city planners can use results to best plan future city-wide endeavors to reduce air pollution exposure. The information from this project can be used to identify the most impacted neighborhoods that should be targeted first for actions that reduce pollution burden and improve health outcomes.
• Public Awareness and Public Health: The results from this work can be disseminated publicly to inform members of the public about their own personal exposure to air pollution. Public health messaging can include information about the health risks of exposure to traffic pollution and how to mitigate personal exposure. Future infrastructure investments in transportation emissions reductions will eventually lead to benefits in public health by reducing PM2.5, and those in pollution-burdened neighborhoods will benefit the most from targeted pollution reduction actions in those heavily impacted areas.