Facts and figures Sosnowiec is a city in southern Poland , 65km north-east of Kraków . It has a population of around 200,000 and is part of a larger conurbation of cities around south eastern Poland . Together , they form one of the largest urban areas in Europe .
Air pollution frontline
Sosnowiec is in the top 35 most polluted cities in Europe , according to the World Health Organisation . The city is above EU targets for air pollution for around four months of the year . In winter 2016 / 17 Sosnowiec has exceeded national PM2.5 limits by several hundred percent . Nationally , air pollution costs Poland € 101 billion a year because of the sickness and fatalities it causes , which is an astonishing 13 % of Poland ’ s GDP .
What ‘ s up , Sosnowiec ?
In each edition of the newsletter , we will introduce one of
The main source of air pollution in Poland is easily identified . 42 % of air pollution comes from peoples ’ homes - much of which is caused by burning fuels for heating .
Historical Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is celebrating its 115th year anniversary in 2017 . The city
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name is thought to come from “ sosny ”, the Polish word for pine trees .
Data from : Passport to Trade 2.0 ; Wikipedia , Silesion . pl , Sosnowiec Town Hall and Statistica .
Amsterdam welcomes ClairCity
The November 2016 ClairCity project meeting took place in Amsterdam , Netherlands . The first day of the event included presentations from local and national government , input from a local citizen campaign , project partners and members of our External Advisory Board .
To an outsider , Amsterdam is remarkable for the sheer amount of bicycle traffic . Despite this , road transport ( cars , but also delivery vehicles and tourist coaches ) is a major cause of air pollution in the city .
To tackle air pollution and the health problems it causes , the city has implemented a range of innovative regulations , including “ low emissions zones ,” and no primary schools and residences for older people are allowed to be built within 300m of a motorway – a rule that targets the protection of the most vulnerable . Amsterdam is a city with many advantages , but it still faces many challenges . The experience Amsterdam can share is invaluable for other cities and regions around the world .
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