The Land Use Regression (LUR) model is now used for exposure assessment in air pollution epidemiologic studies rather than measuring/monitoring pollutants. However, there have been few epidemiologic studies using the LUR models and characteristics of the model have been unclear in Japan. To determine whether the LUR model can be applicable to air pollution epidemiologic studies as the method of exposure assessment in Japan, we developed the LUR models for NO₂, NO_x, and SPM in Yokohama.

The annual means of NO_x, NO₂ or SPM measured at 29 monitoring stations in Yokohama city in 2005 were regressed on land use data such as residential/industrial area, traffic volume, etc, using a manual stepwise method. The adjusted R² values for the NO_x and NO₂ regressions were 0.88 and 0.81, respectively. The adjusted R² for the SPM regression was 0.55. The distributions of the concentrations were mapped using Arc-GIS software. The LUR models we developed and the concentration maps may be valid compared to other models and the LUR models developed in the western countries. However, a much higher resolution for the concentration distribution based on the LUR models might be necessary for epidemiological studies of traffic-related air pollution in Japan. We should be necessary to consider the measurement points, etc, necessary for developing the LUR models.