Future of transportation in cold climate cities:

Transportation in cold climates has different dynamics than that of cities with mild weather conditions. In extremely cold winters, individual mode choices are different; there are more idlings, more cabin heating is required, road conditions are compromised and atmospheric stability is more frequent.

Decarbonization solutions that work for many cities may not work for cold climate cities. Many cities in Canada, northern Europe, and Asia are categorized as cold-climate cities.

Objectives:

In this project, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, we will explore the urban mobility options specific to cold-climate cities.

Methodology:

Real-world transportation data collection (traffic volume, speed, fleet composition, fleet technology), real-world driving emission measurement for selected technologies using PEMS,  powertrain simulation, data-driven model for cold climate emission factors, machine learning, and AI-based model for cold climate traffic forecasting, bottom-up emission inventory development, emission speciation, and gridding, atmospheric chemical transport modelling.

• Abediasl, H., Balazade Meresht, N., Alizadeh, H., Shahbakhti, M., Koch, C.R., Hosseini, V., Road transportation emissions and energy consumption in cold climate cities, Urban Climate, 52, 101697 (link)

Collaborators:

CREATE researchers:

Research Partners: