The Google cars that have become a common sight mapping and remapping changing city streets are now mapping air quality as well, providing cities with data for planning and remediation, and allowing motorists to pick the route with the least environmental damage.
It’s a recent addition to the camera cars’ ability, and is being piloted in a number of U.S. cities and London, with Copenhagen now joining in. Previously, Copenhagen only monitored air quality at three locations in the city, so this will be a big change.
Ninna Hedeager Olsen, a member of the city’s urban planning committee, in a press statement, said that “By working with one of the world’s biggest tech firms, Google, we are as a municipality pushing new methods for measuring air quality in the city. This will put Copenhagen in the lead in the battle to secure the best possible air quality and to give residents information so that they can choose, for example, to cycle on less-polluted routes.”
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