No, the 30 km/h limit in the city does not increase pollution

The 30km/h limit – and consequently the model of City 30 – come back under attack because of fake news and bad information circulated these days following the third forum The Urban Mobility Council, took place in Milan on Monday 8 July.Relevant media such as Rai news, Handle, Milano today, with their titles they have misrepresented and substantially overturned the scientific evidence presented by experts within the forum organized by Unipol, questioning the benefits proven by international research on the reduction of speed limits in urban contexts.

City 30, misinformation seriously harms health

“With the limit of 30 per hour in Milan there will be more pollution”, "At 30 an hour you pollute more" are some of the headlines that have startled those who deal with these issues by promoting sustainable mobility, as well as safety on our roads.Politicians, experts, associations, virtuous municipalities engaged in this process and activists remain dismayed in the face of unfounded positions to which the press has given space, demonstrating that it has not verified the sources and fuels "denialist" arguments on the Città 30 theme, which are reminiscent of the hostile attitude suffered by the scientific community on the topic of the climate crisis.

Also causing confusion was the title "According to the MIT, the 30 km/h limit causes more pollution in Milan", where Mit has been misunderstood by many and interpreted as the Ministry of Transport, while the acronym refers to the authoritative one Massachusetts Institute of Technology  of Boston.And the professor himself Carlo Ratti, responsible for Mit Senseable City Lab, together with my colleague Umberto Fugiglando,  intervened in the forum claiming exactly the opposite of what was stated in the title.

With the “Milan case” the superficiality and irresponsibility of the press therefore emerges.If we can defend ourselves from attacks advanced by bad information by responding with data, numbers and scientific research, it is certainly more complicated to dismantle a system that hinders the path towards different city models, tailored for people and not for cars, which is going to put balances and above all economic interests are in crisis.And this is worrying.Indeed, as he points out Fiab – Italian environmental and bicycle federation, “misinformation seriously harms our health, as well as that of the City 30”.

The 30 km/h limit reduces emissions

During the forum, the MIT Senseable City Lab study focused on the city of Milan was presented with interventions, among others, by Sergio Savaresi (PoliMI), of the mayor Beppe Sala of Milan and Stefano Genovese (Unipol) as well as those already mentioned Carlo Ratti of MIT and Umberto Fugiglando.

Precisely the latter, on June 10, went so far as to publicly deny it open.online as reported by various newspapers.Fugiglando refers to one in the article study cited during the conference and states that «by combining simulated primary effects and secondary effects for which a simulation has not yet been carried out we expect that the overall impact of reducing speed limits can lead to a net reduction in gas emissions.This would be consistent with the results observed in other European cities subject to total or partial reduction of speed limits to 30km/h where it has been reported an average reduction in gas emissions (-18%).The same study reports observed data of reduction in accidents (-23%), mortality (-37%), and injuries (-38%)».

International research on the benefits of 30km/h

There is countless research that highlights the benefits of speed reduction in urban areas.Many are taken up inelaborate analysis on this occasion from Edoardo Galatola, Security Manager of the FIAB Study Center and among other things author of the City Law 30 proposal together with Andrea Colombo, expert in sustainable mobility and public space at the Urban Innovation Foundation, former councilor for Mobility in Bologna.

Galatola cites for example the document “Zone 30 to increase road safety.Facts and Arguments” in which the Swiss Office for Accident Prevention states that the 30 km/h limit saves lives without hindering the flow of traffic.“The gain obtained in terms of safety does not come at the expense of traffic fluidity and efficiency:normally a reduction in the maximum speed limit does not have a significant impact on the efficiency of main roads and does not generate significant parasitic traffic on other roads – underlines Galatola.

Me too'European Transport Safety Council reiterates that the claim that 30 km/h speed limits lead to increased traffic congestion and higher costs is a myth, not supported by evidence.