A systematic review of quantitative assessments of traffic-focused urban air quality regulations

Grant Allan and Aidan Rooney

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2026, vol. 208, issue C

Abstract: This systematic review follows PRISMA 2020 guidelines to identify whether measurable impacts have been observed following urban air quality interventions targeting private road users. A structured search was conducted on Scopus in February 2025, identifying 2088 studies. After applying strict inclusion criteria - requiring studies to examine urban-scale air quality interventions, target private road users, and apply quantitative ex post causal inference techniques - 59 studies were included for review. Our review examines publication trends, geographic focus, outlets, methods, key variables, and overall findings, classifying impacts on air quality, economic, behavioural, and health outcomes as positive, mixed, or negative. We identify three intervention types: (1) vehicle bans by type/time, (2) access charges for urban areas, and (3) fines for non-compliant vehicles. When splitting the papers by intervention type, outcome studied, and categorisation of impact, sample sizes become small. Only for intervention types (1) and (3), is there a sample of ≥ 10 studies examining the impacts on one outcome: air quality. Of these papers, a higher proportion examining fines for non-compliance found positive effects on air quality. While studies commonly report improvements in air quality and health, results are mixed for behavioural and economic variables. This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of policy effectiveness and highlights methodological and geographic gaps in the literature, supporting future evidence-based policy design.

Keywords: Causal inference; Systematic literature review; PRISMA; Urban air quality regulations; Policy evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856426001059
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:transa:v:208:y:2026:i:c:s0965856426001059

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2026.104964

Access Statistics for this article

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice is currently edited by John (J.M.) Rose

More articles in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().