Beijing plans ‘ventilation corridors’ to blow air pollution away
Capital would be better off cutting emissions, not sending them somewhere else, expert says
Beijing is planning to develop a network of “ventilation corridors” to help disperse its notorious smog, Xinhua reported on the weekend, citing the city’s planning authorities.
But an environmental expert questioned the effectiveness of the approach, saying the better remedy was to cut emissions.
The corridors would be created by linking parks, rivers, lakes, highways and low-rise buildings to allow greater air flow, said Wang Fei, deputy head of the city’s urban planning committee.
By improving air flow through the city, “the wind can blow away heat and pollutants, easing the urban heat island effect and air pollution,” he told Xinhua.
Construction would be strictly controlled in areas within the corridors’ boundaries, and obstacles in the way would be removed if possible, Wang said.
Under the plan, five major corridors more than 500 metres wide would stretch from the northern suburbs to the south, with several secondary ventilation corridors more 80 metres wide.