Objective 1:
To develop an integrated framework linking air quality management with urban
resilience planning
Data Collection and Pre-processing
3.4.1 Data Sources
The following datasets are required:
A. Urban Morphology and Land Use
Municipal cadastral maps (building footprints, heights where available)
Land-use/land-cover (residential, commercial, industrial)
Road network data
Green infrastructure/vegetation cover
Cycling and pedestrian infrastructure
B. Socio-Demographic and Vulnerability Data
Census data (population density, age structure, vulnerable groups)
Locations of hospitals, schools, nursing homes
C. Air Quality Data
Ground-based air quality monitoring (e.g., PM₂.₅, PM₁₀)
Satellite-derived air quality estimates (for spatial interpolation)
D. Meteorological Data
Wind speed and direction
Temperature profiles
Atmospheric stability classes
E. Auxiliary Data
Digital elevation model (DEM)
Administrative boundaries
Data is acquired from provincial planning departments, environmental agencies, open-source
platforms (e.g., OpenStreetMap), and satellite repositories.
3.4.2 Pre-processing
Data pre-processing ensures analytical readiness:
Coordinate reference systems (CRS) unified to UTM zones covering Punjab.
Topology correction of vector data to eliminate gaps and overlaps.
Rasterization of vector attributes where required for model inputs.
Interpolation of station air quality data using kriging or IDW to produce continuous
surface layers.
Quality control, outlier checks, and metadata documentation ensure reliability.
Indicator Selection and Zonal Delimitation
Delimiting AQMZ requires a suite of indicators that reflect both air quality determinants and
planners’ ability to influence them.
3.5.1 Conceptual Basis
The indicators are grounded in the hypothesis that urban form significantly affects:
Ventilation potential (through urban geometry and permeability)
Exposure risk (through land use and human activity patterns)
Indicators are grouped into two major classes:
A. Air Circulation Classes
These represent morphological attributes influencing ventilation.
B. Potential Increased Exposure Zones
These represent functional attributes influencing exposure risk.
Indicators are also evaluated in terms of:
Data availability
Ease of calculation
Relevance to municipal planning
3.5.2 Air Circulation Indicators
Air circulation reflects the capacity of urban space to disperse pollutants.
a) Plan Area Density (λP)
Ratio of building footprint area to total site area
High λP → congested morphology → reduced ventilation
b) Gross Floor Area Ratio (λGFA)
Ratio of total built-up floor area to total site area
Reflects massing and vertical density
c) Height Variability (σH)
Standard deviation of building heights
Greater variability suggests potential for enhanced vertical mixing
d) Street Canyon Density (σSC)
Ratio of cumulative length of street canyons to total area
Street canyons trap pollutants due to low width-to-height ratios
e) Tall Vegetation Density (λTV)
Ratio of tall vegetation cover to area
Trees can both hinder and support ventilation depending on configuration
3.5.3 Exposure Indicators
Exposure risk is proxied through functional and infrastructural indicators.
a) Residential/Commercial Floor Area Ratio (λRC)
Indicates population and activity intensity
Proxy for potential human exposure
b) Vulnerable Function Footprint (λUF)
Ratio of buildings with hospitals, schools, nursing homes to area
Highlights concentration of sensitive receptors
c) Cycling Infrastructure Density (σC)
Length of cycling infrastructure per area
Proxy for active travel exposure
d) Parks and Outdoor Facility Density (λPO)
Ratio of public outdoor areas to area
Proxy for outdoor human activity exposure
3.6 Delineation of Air Quality Management Zones (AQMZ)
3.6.1 GIS-based Classification
The study applies a GIS multi-criteria classification to create AQMZ polygons.
Step-by-step:
1. Compute all indicators at a standard spatial unit (e.g., 500 m grid or planning sub-zone).
2. Normalize each indicator to a common scale (e.g., 0–1).
3. Classify normalized values using thresholds derived from literature and regional
validation.
4. Combine morphological and functional layers using weighted overlay to produce an
AQMZ map.
AQMZ Typologies:
High-risk zones: low ventilation + high exposure
Moderate-risk zones: medium ventilation and exposure
Low-risk zones: high ventilation and low exposure
Research Methodology
Resilience Capacity Assessment
The innovation of the methodology lies in integrating AQMZ outputs with urban resilience
capacities.
Environmental Resilience
Capacity to absorb and dissipate pollution
Linked to ventilation potential and green infrastructur
Functional Resilience
Capacity of transport and activity networks to adapt without excessive exposure
Resilience Indicators
Environmental Resilience Index (ERI)
ERI = f(σH, λTV, σSC)
High σH and λTV increase dispersion and buffer effects
High σSC decreases ventilation potential
RI is normalized (0–1) with higher values indicating higher environmental resilience.
Functional Resilience Index (FRI)
FRI = f(σC, λPO)
High σC and λPO may increase exposure but also offer adaptive mobility alternatives
Weighting accounts for traffic intensity and route exposure
Integration of AQMZ with Resilience Capacities
Each zone is assigned a resilience profile by overlaying AQMZ polygons with resilience index
outputs.
Resilience Profile Categories:
Resilient Zones: Low risk + high resilience indices
Adaptive Zones: Moderate risk but strong resilience
Vulnerable Zones: High risk + weak resilience
Where is urban resilience data taken from in this study?
In this research, urban resilience is not treated as a single dataset, but as a composite
construct derived from multiple existing and accessible data sources in Punjab, Pakistan.
Resilience data is therefore operationalized through indicators, each linked to a specific
resilience dimension and supported by available datasets.
1. Environmental Resilience Data (Ecosystem & Morphology-Based)
What it measures:
The capacity of urban form and green infrastructure to absorb, disperse, and mitigate air
pollution.
Data sources in Punjab:
Building footprints and density →
Municipal Development Authorities (LDA, FDA, GDA), Punjab Urban Unit
Building height / FAR (where available) →
Municipal records; supplemented by satellite-derived proxies
Street network and canyon geometry →
OpenStreetMap, municipal road departments
Urban vegetation and tree cover →
SUPARCO, Sentinel-2, Landsat imagery (freely available)
Why this is valid:
These datasets are already used in environmental planning and climate studies in Pakistan and
require no new field surveys.
Functional Resilience Data (Mobility & Urban Activity)
What it measures:
The capacity of urban systems to function and adapt while minimizing exposure.
Data sources in Punjab:
Road network and transport infrastructure →
Municipal transport departments, OpenStreetMap
Cycling infrastructure →
Municipal transport plans, GIS mapping
Parks and outdoor spaces →
Parks & Horticulture Authorities (PHA), land-use maps
Why proxies are used:
Detailed mobility tracking data is not consistently available in Punjab, so infrastructure density
is used as a planning-scale proxy, which is an accepted method in resilience and exposure
studies.
How resilience data is combined (important for examiners)
Rather than relying on a single “resilience dataset”, this study:
Derives resilience indicators from existing spatial and institutional data
Normalizes and integrates them using GIS
Assigns resilience capacity scores to each AQMZ
Research Methodology
This research adopts a spatially explicit, GIS-based methodology to develop Air Quality
Management Zones (AQMZ) and to assess environmental resilience capacity of urban areas
in Punjab, Pakistan. The methodology is structured to ensure practical feasibility within the
existing data environment of Punjab, emphasizing the use of readily available municipal,
satellite, and environmental datasets. The approach integrates urban morphological analysis
with air quality considerations to identify zones with varying ventilation potential and pollution
mitigation capacity, thereby supporting environmentally resilient urban planning.
The study area includes selected urban centers of Punjab Province, Pakistan, where rapid urban
expansion, high population density, industrial activities, and traffic emissions have contributed to
deteriorating air quality. Punjab is characterized by heterogeneous urban morphology, ranging
from compact historic cores to newly developed low-density areas, making it suitable for
assessing the role of urban form in environmental resilience. Cities are selected to represent
varying sizes and development patterns to ensure methodological transferability across the
province.
Data collection relies primarily on existing and accessible sources in Punjab. Urban spatial
data, including building footprints, land-use classifications, road networks, and administrative
boundaries, are obtained from municipal development authorities such as the Lahore
Development Authority (LDA), Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA), and Gujranwala
Development Authority (GDA), as well as from the Punjab Urban Unit. These datasets are
routinely used in urban planning practice and are either publicly accessible or obtainable through
formal institutional requests. Where municipal datasets are incomplete, open-source geospatial
data from platforms such as OpenStreetMap are used to supplement road and infrastructure
information.
Land-use and land-cover data, including green spaces and urban vegetation, are derived from
freely available satellite imagery, including Landsat and Sentinel datasets, as well as national
remote sensing products provided by SUPARCO. These datasets enable consistent mapping of
built-up areas, open spaces, and tall vegetation across cities in Punjab without the need for
extensive field surveys. Digital elevation models used to account for topographic variation are
obtained from global open-access sources and are sufficient for city-scale analysis in the
predominantly flat terrain of Punjab.
Air quality data, particularly for particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀), are collected from fixed
monitoring stations operated by the Punjab Environmental Protection Department (Punjab EPA).
Although monitoring stations are limited in number, they provide reliable point-based
measurements of ambient air pollution. To improve spatial representation, these measurements
are interpolated using GIS-based spatial interpolation techniques to generate continuous
pollution surfaces. Meteorological data relevant to dispersion conditions, such as prevailing wind
direction and wind speed, are obtained from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and
incorporated at the city scale.
The methodological framework is grounded in the assumption that urban morphology
significantly influences environmental resilience to air pollution through its effect on
ventilation and pollutant dispersion. To operationalize this relationship, a set of urban form
indicators is selected based on their relevance to air circulation and their compatibility with
available data in Punjab. These indicators include plan area density, gross floor area ratio,
building height variability, street canyon density, and tall vegetation density. All indicators are
computable using commonly available municipal and satellite-derived datasets, ensuring
methodological feasibility and replicability.
Plan area density is calculated as the ratio of building footprint area to total land area,
representing urban compactness and its potential impact on airflow obstruction. Gross floor area
ratio is used to capture vertical density and building massing, particularly in the absence of
detailed three-dimensional building data. Building height variability, where direct height data is
unavailable, is approximated using land-use categories and building typologies derived from
planning records. Street canyon density is derived from road network data and building
footprints to identify areas where narrow streets and high building heights may inhibit pollutant
dispersion. Tall vegetation density is calculated using classified satellite imagery to represent the
role of urban green infrastructure in modifying airflow and microclimatic conditions.
All indicators are calculated within a standardized spatial unit, such as a regular grid or
municipal planning zones, to ensure comparability across different urban contexts. The
indicators are normalized and classified into relative categories representing low, medium, and
high influence on ventilation potential. A GIS-based multi-criteria overlay technique is then
applied to integrate these indicators, resulting in the delineation of Air Quality Management
Zones (AQMZ). These zones represent areas with similar morphological and environmental
characteristics relevant to air quality management rather than uniform pollution concentrations.
Environmental resilience is assessed by interpreting AQMZ outputs in terms of urban capacity
to disperse pollutants and mitigate air quality stress. Zones characterized by higher
ventilation potential, greater height variability, and adequate green infrastructure are interpreted
as having higher environmental resilience, while zones with high compactness, dense street
canyons, and limited vegetation are identified as environmentally vulnerable. This interpretation
does not require additional datasets beyond those already used for AQMZ delineation, making
the resilience assessment fully data-feasible within the Punjab context.
The methodology is validated through comparative analysis across selected cities in Punjab by
examining the spatial correspondence between AQMZ classifications and observed air pollution
patterns. This validation ensures that the framework reliably reflects environmental resilience
conditions under real-world urban and climatic contexts.
Overall, the proposed methodology is practically implementable, data-realistic, and tailored
to the institutional and environmental conditions of Punjab, Pakistan. By relying on
accessible datasets and standard GIS techniques, the AQMZ–environmental resilience
framework provides a robust tool for supporting sustainable urban planning and air quality
management in data-constrained urban regions.