Spatialization of the estimated particulate matter emitted by vehicular traffic in the city of Rio de Janeiro and the associated population profile

Abstract

Over the last decade, the Rio de Janeiro city government has invested in mobility, mainly in the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), a diesel-powered public road transport system that is a source of particulate matter (PM) emissions. Aiming to identify the city's Planning Regions that emit the most PM, as well as the socioeconomic characteristics of these areas, data from 963 vehicle counting stations of CET-Rio (Rio de Janeiro's traffic management company) for January 2021 were used. Using Machine Learning, vehicle flow was estimated in 42,411 road sections, discriminating it by category, year, and fuel type. Subsequently, statistical tests were applied between the pollution emitted and the social indicators of income and skin color. The results show that Barra da Tijuca replicates a spatially elitist model existing in the South Zone, with higher PM emissions coinciding with a wealthier, predominantly white population, the opposite of what is described in international studies, although there is no statistically significant correlation for the entire city.