Associations between the built environment and concentrations of outdoor particulate matter in children's everyday places

Despite the growing research on the relationship between the built environment (BE), outdoor air quality, and children's respiratory health, our understanding of how to plan and design children's everyday places with better air quality is limited. This study investigates the associations between BE attributes and concentrations of outdoor particulate matter (PM) in children's everyday places. The results are based on PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ measurements in 154 highly frequented outdoor places of 1687 nine-to fourteen-year-old children living in Ankara, Türkiye, in heating season. To analyze the relationship between variables, Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis were used. Findings show that, among the examined BE characteristics of children's places, only neighborhood greenness and proximity to polluting industrial facilities are significantly associated with PM_2.5 concentrations. Two additional factors are significantly associated with PM₁₀ concentrations: building density and land use mix. These results suggest that urban planners and designers should place greater emphasis on creating highly dense, mixed-use and green neighborhoods away from polluting industrial areas to promote children's health.