UTTRI associated faculty Professor Jeff Brook, Scientific Director and Nominated Principal Investigator of the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), spoke to CBC News about how the improvement in air quality during COVID illustrates what is possible.
The article also mentions the tentatively named “Good Score” app, currently under development by Brook and his team, which will enable Canadians to learn about air quality, greenery, walkability and other factors contributing to the environmental health of their neighbourhoods.
“All we know about air pollution and health relationships suggests that any improvement leads to benefits in health,” Brook said. “What COVID is showing … is that the moment that the lockdown started, we saw bigger gains or equal gains as to what we achieved over 10 years of efforts.”
“It’s a good reminder of what’s possible. We’ve seen how clear the skies can get. We’ve seen how people can change their habits to some extent.”