Assessment of potential benefits of traffic and urban mobility reductions during COVID-19 lockdowns: dose-response calculations for material corrosions on built cultural heritage

Abstract

Air pollution, particularly in urban areas, puts human health in danger and has adverse impacts on the built environment. It can accelerate the natural corrosion rate of cultural heritages and monuments, leading to premature aging and lowering their aesthetic value. Globally, at the beginning of 2020, to tackle the spread of novel COVID‑19, the lockdown was enforced in the most hard‑hit countries. Therefore, this study assesses, as a first time, the plausible benefits of traffic and urban mobility reductions on the natural process of deterioration of materials during COVID‑19 lockdown in twenty‑four major cities on five continents. The potential risk is estimated based on exceeding the tolerable degradation limits for each material. The notable impact of COVID‑19 mobility restrictions on air quality was evidenced in 2020 compared to 2019.