Specific site research with identifying point sources that could be causing the increased pollution recorded in the northeast direction, as described in the Research Results page. Accounting for locations that could be pollutant sources, and taking a closer look at factors that may come into differentiating concentration levels, we investigated the elements in and around each site with respect to environmental air quality.
Rodenkirchen
In the Rodenkirchen district, the current population is about 17,000 people. Features of the site include the nearby Finkens Garten, a nature experience garden and park inviting visitors of all ages to explore and discover a wide biodiversity of plants and animals, including birds, insects, uncommon urban pond ecosystems, and a bee apiary.
The Cologne Beekeepers’ Association meets twice a month at the gardens. Further, honeybee and wild bee craft days for preschool students are offered on the weekends, involving “crafting with wax, the building material of bees – construction and cosmetics.” The community garden also offers opportunities for multigenerational education, discussion, and collaboration on a shared sustainable initiative.
The Finkens Garten site advertises free educational tours for children’s groups on a daily basis, serving as a practical nature experience laboratory for “learning about a concrete object: seeing, observing, discovering; learning to know, appreciate and protect; smelling and tasting, touching and feeling: understanding.” As an invaluable opportunity for teachers and youth leaders to participate in the “On the trail of nature” educational course, visitors of the Finkens Garten are exposed to the tangible benefits inherent in urban green spaces, in the district of Rodenkirchen and across the city of Cologne on the whole.
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Turiner Straße
In the district surrounding Turiner Straße, the current population is around 28,524 people. This site is along a busy inner city intersection B/55/B9 from Roonstraße to Turiner Straße. This site is ranked among one of the most highly trafficked roads in Germany (General Anzeiger). According to the General Anzeiger, a regional daily newspaper based in Bonn, a study with traffic data sourced from car manufacturers and traffic authorities, with the average journey time compared to the quickest route, found that within North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state in Germany, Bonn drivers are the worst affected. The study found that idle time in traffic poses a severe threat to urban air pollution, especially with increased population and corresponding congestion.
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Potential Pollution Sources
In the surrounding area there are several factors that contribute to air pollution, particularly from motorized transport. One such factor is Highway 4 which has high volumes of traffic throughout the day. Another factor located to the east is the Cologne Bonn Airport. This site is where our meteorological data is sourced from. As the data shows, this site does not have a direct impact on air pollution at Rodenkirchen, which could be due a number of factors including wind patterns and geological barriers, such as rivers. Lastly, nearby major industrial centers to Turiner Straße include paper, textile, wool, and technology manufacturing plants located in a nearby urban center northeast of downtown Cologne, particularly in Bergisch Gladbach, NRW.
Utilizing a combination of Blitzer (Germany’s most popular speed camera warning app) and Google Maps, we were able to determine relevant surrounding sites that may have an impact on our research findings and data visualization interpretations. On the left hand side is the Rodenkirchen site, and on the right hand side is the Turiner Straße site.
