External costs of air pollution generated by road traffic in the Brussels urban area

This paper presents a methodology for the assessment of the external costs of air pollution caused by road traffic in the Brussels urban area. This methodology is applied to assess different alternative measures towards sustainable mobility. The general approach follows the sequence: human activity → emissions → concentrations → physical impact → external costs. The methodology developed in terms of this sequence consists of three specific modules. Of these, the first module involves the assessment of air pollutant emissions from road traffic and indoor heating, which are the main urban sources of pollution. The second module establishes the relationship between previously calculated emissions and the concentrations of pollutants in the surrounding atmosphere. The third module assesses the damage in physical and monetary terms on the basis of suitable exposure-response functions. The principal effects covered by the evaluation involve the impact on public health and damage to build...