Urban environmental determinants of respiratory health: The role of air pollution, housing conditions, and green open space
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33024/minh.v9i3.3211
Air Pollution Green Space Housing Respiratory Health Urban Environment
Abstract
Background: Rapid urbanization has increased exposure to multiple environmental stressors including air pollution, inadequate housing, and limited access to green open spaces, all of which adversely affect respiratory health. Understanding the interplay of these factors is essential for developing evidence-based urban health policies.
Purpose: To synthesize evidence on the determinants of urban environments — specifically air pollution, housing conditions, and green open spaces — and their effects on respiratory health outcomes.
Method: This study employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Literature searches were conducted using keywords "urban environment", "air pollution", "housing", "green space", and "respiratory health" across databases. A total of 15 articles published between 2022 and 2025 met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Evidence consistently demonstrates that exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and traffic-related air pollutants is significantly associated with reduced lung function and increased incidence of asthma, COPD, and acute respiratory infections. Poor housing conditions — particularly overcrowding, dampness, and inadequate ventilation — exacerbate respiratory disease burden. Access to green open spaces was associated with protective respiratory effects.
Conclusion: Urban environmental determinants collectively and interactively shape respiratory health. Integrated urban planning that reduces air pollution, improves housing standards, and expands green infrastructure is critical for respiratory health promotion in rapidly growing cities.
Downloads
References
Arku, R. E., Brauer, M., Ahmed, S. H., AlHabib, K. F., Avezum, Á., Bo, J., & Hystad, P. (2020). Long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution and blood pressure in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. Environmental Pollution, 262, 114197.
Bernard, Y., Miller, J., Wappelhorst, S., & Braun, C. (2020). Impacts of the Paris low-emission zone and implications for other cities. TRUE–The Real Urban Emissions Initiative, United Kingdom, ISBN, 1744072, 425.
Cheng, J., Tong, S., Su, H., & Xu, Z. (2022). Association between sub-daily exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of asthma exacerbations in Australian children. Environmental research, 212, 113556.
Hartley, K., Ryan, P. H., Gillespie, G. L., Perazzo, J., Wright, J. M., Rice, G. E., & Brokamp, C. (2022). Residential greenness, asthma, and lung function among children at high risk of allergic sensitization: a prospective cohort study. Environmental Health, 21(1), 52.
Heshani, A. S., & Winijkul, E. (2022). Numerical simulations of the effects of green infrastructure on PM2. 5 dispersion in an urban park in Bangkok, Thailand. Heliyon, 8(9).
Holden, K. A., Lee, A. R., Hawcutt, D. B., & Sinha, I. P. (2023). The impact of poor housing and indoor air quality on respiratory health in children. Breathe, 19(2).
Ma, Y., Wang, W., Li, Z., Si, Y., Wang, J., Chen, L., & Wu, S. (2022). Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of daily hospital admissions for anxiety in China: A multicity study. Journal of hazardous materials, 424, 127535.
Maher, B. A., Gonet, T., Karloukovski, V. V., Wang, H., & Bannan, T. J. (2022). Protecting playgrounds: local-scale reduction of airborne particulate matter concentrations through particulate deposition on roadside ‘tredges’(green infrastructure). Scientific Reports, 12(1), 14236.
Mainka, A., & Żak, M. (2022). Synergistic or antagonistic health effects of long-and short-term exposure to ambient NO2 and PM2. 5: a review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(21), 14079.
Moreno, E., Schwarz, L., Host, S., Chanel, O., & Benmarhnia, T. (2022). The environmental justice implications of the Paris low emission zone: a health and economic impact assessment. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 15(12), 2171-2184.
Mueller, W., Milner, J., Loh, M., Vardoulakis, S., & Wilkinson, P. (2022). Exposure to urban greenspace and pathways to respiratory health: an exploratory systematic review. Science of the Total Environment, 829, 154447.
Nanda, A., Mustafa, S. S., Castillo, M., & Bernstein, J. A. (2022). Air pollution effects in allergies and asthma. Immunology and Allergy Clinics, 42(4), 801-815.
Nieuwenhuijsen, M., De Nazelle, A., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Khreis, H., & Hoffmann, B. (2024). Shaping urban environments to improve respiratory health: recommendations for research, planning, and policy. The Lancet respiratory medicine, 12(3), 247-254.
Radbel, J., Rebuli, M. E., Kipen, H., & Brigham, E. (2024). Indoor air pollution and airway health. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 154(4), 835-846.
Tang, J. H., Huang, Y. J., Lee, P. H., Lee, Y. T., Wang, Y. C., & Chan, T. C. (2024). Associations between community green view index and fine particulate matter from Airboxes. Science of the Total Environment, 921, 171213.
United Nations. (2018) World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision. New York: United Nations Publications. Retrieved from: https://population.un.org/wup/publications?tab=2018
World Health Organization. (2021). WHO global air quality guidelines: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228/
Wu, H., Lu, K., & Fu, J. (2022). A time-series study for effects of ozone on respiratory mortality and cardiovascular mortality in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 864537.
Yan, M., Ge, H., Zhang, L., Chen, X., Yang, X., Liu, F., & Tang, N. J. (2022). Long-term PM2. 5 exposure in association with chronic respiratory diseases morbidity: a cohort study in northern China. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 244, 114025.
Zhang, H., Fan, Y., Han, Y., Yan, L., Zhou, B., Chen, W., & Barratt, B. (2022). Partitioning indoor-generated and outdoor-generated PM2. 5 from real-time residential measurements in urban and peri-urban Beijing. Science of The Total Environment, 845, 157249.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Tuti Yelvianti, Muhammad Fachri, Nurmalia Lusida
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
