Impact of Urban Topography and Infrastructure on Air Pollution Dispersion Using UAV-Based AQI Systems

Abstract

Urban air quality reflects the combined effects of topography, built form, and emission sources, producing pronounced spatial and temporal variability in pollutant dispersion. This study investigates how urban morphological features-building density, green-space distribution, and transportation corridors-shape these dispersion patterns by deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with Air Quality Index (AQI) sensors. Multi-altitude, high-resolution drone transects were conducted across contrasting urban settings to capture fine-scale pollutant distributions and their dynamics. The measurements reveal localized hotspots and zones of limited dispersion that align with variations in building layout, vegetation presence, and traffic intensity. Compared with fixed-site monitors, the UAV approach resolves vertical and horizontal gradients that are otherwise missed, providing complementary evidence of three-dimensional micro-scale heterogeneity. Taken together, the results indicate that decisions on urban design and infrastructure placement materially influence air-quality outcomes. These findings support the integration of UAV-based observations with conventional monitoring networks to inform targeted mitigation measures, exposure-aware mobility planning, and evidence-based strategies for public health and urban sustainability.

Keywords

Urban air quality / Unmanned aerial vehicles / Air quality index / Pollution dispersion / Urban morphology / Green infrastructure / Environmental monitoring / Public health

Statement of the Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used ChatGPT to assist with language editing. All content generated with this tool was subsequently reviewed and revised by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Darko T. and Tomislav P. for the donation of equipment used in this study. We are grateful to Vladimir N., Kultura-Gost., Rade B., Filip K. and Aleksandar J. for providing access to locations for the installation of ground sensors. We also thank Rade B. for allowing the use of his property as a take-off and landing site for UAV flights in the dense urban area.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.J. and I.S.; Methodology, B.J.; Software, B.J.; Validation, B.J. and I.S.; Formal Analysis, B.J.; Investigation, B.J.; Resources, B.J.; Data Curation, B.J.; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, B.J.; Writing-Review & Editing, B.J. and I.S.; Visualization, B.J.; Supervision, I.S.; Project Administration, B.J.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Available upon request.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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