Leuven 2016

The airQmap below has been created by Leuven2030. The map shows the average BC (Black Carbon) concentrations in Leuven during the period May 11 2016 – June 19 2016. Two maps are available:

1. The map ‘Working days’ shows the average BC concentrations during morning rush hour (8h00 – 9h00) and evening rush hour (16h00 – 17h00) on working days.
2. The map ‘Weekend’ shows the average BC concentration over different moments on weekends and holidays (9h00 – 10h00, 12h00 – 13h00 and 15h00 – 16h00).

For each 20 meter road segment, the average BC concentration in µg/m³ is shown. The lowest concentrations are represented in green. The used color scale is described on the INFO page. The BC concentration gives the average exposure of cyclists at different locations in Leuven.

This map has been realized based on mobile BC measurements collected by volunteers on a bicycle. The ‘weekend’ map shows the aggregated results of 19 measurement runs on 11 different days over the same track of 14 km. The ‘working days’ map shows the aggregated result of 27 measurement runs on 18 different working days over the same track. Each measurement run has started at the city office of Leuven and the biking direction has always been clockwise. Repeated measurements are needed to obtain a representative image of the air quality differences in the city. Previous studies of VITO indicated that at least 25 repetitions are required to obtain acceptable results. During the weekends, the number of repetitions was somewhat lower but still acceptable since less variation in air quality is present at that time.