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The aim of the study was to identify patterns of distribution of the magnitude of the the equivalent dose rate of gamma radiation in an open area of urban space, depending on the functional purpose of the inner-city territory and the type of artificial coating. Materials and methods. Measurements of the equivalent dose rate of gamma radiation (gamma background) in the city of Voronezh were carried out at 70 points, conventionally classified by functional use (industrial area, transport area, residential area, recreational area), as well as the type of coverage in open areas (granite stone blocks , asphalt pavement, paving slabs, open ground) For carrying out radiation monitoring, a highly sensitive portable search device was used – a search measuring gauge microprocessor ICP-PM1401MA. To assess the reliability of differences in the average values of the indicator by functional inner-city zones and types of artificial turf, the methods of parametric statistics (Student’s criterion) are used. Parametric methods of statistics in comparison with nonparametric methods allow statistically unambiguous interpretation of the results. There is no need to use other statistical tools in this regard. Results. The results of the evaluation of the radiation background show that the equivalent dose rate of gamma radiation (gamma background) in the city of Voronezh is from 0.06 to 0.14 µSv / h and it does not exceed the permissible value (0.3 µSv / h). Significant differences in the average values of indicators in the industrial, transport, residential functional areas in relation to the recreational area were not found (tcalc. < ttabl., P < 0.05). The maximum levels of gamma background (0.09-0.14 µSv / h) in the territory of the city of Voronezh were found in those places where processed natural stones (granite) were used for the improvement of the territory. When solving the problem of identifying the dependence of the indicator of the equivalent dose rate of gamma radiation in an open area of an inner-city space on the type of coating, in order to reduce uncertainties in the future, it is necessary to take into account the formulation of materials, especially the fraction of granite chips.

Environmental pollution in large industrialized cities has become an urgent global problem. On the territory of the Russian Federation, a tense ecological situation is developing in almost all cities with a population of over one million and in large administrative centers. The creation of a quality urban environment is a national priority, a complex and financially costly task, the solution of which cannot be postponed any longer. The main sources of problems in the territories occupied by cities lie in the concentration of production capacities, the steady growth of the population, and as a result, the amount of transport. Due to production, industrial cities concentrate substances of natural and man-made origin forming local and even regional geochemical anomalies in various landscapes. Among all the interrelated components, a special place belongs to the depositing (accumulating) media–soils and bottom sediments. Based on the results of geochemical studies of 2018–2020, the indicators of the quality of the soils of Voronezh were determined, the levels of the content of pollutants of I-III hazard classes in the soils of urban and peripheral areas of Voronezh (benzo(a)pyrene and heavy metals) were established. The authors provide an assessment of the accumulation of pollutants in the bottom sediments of the Voronezh water reservoir, which is located on the territory of the urban district.

The authors have created a geoinformation-analytical system (GIS) for integratedassessment and mapping of the ecological conditions of the territory according to the criteria of anthropogenic impact and quality of the urban environment, as well as the response of woody plants and the health of the child population (on the example of Voronezh – the largest industrial city of the Central Chernozem region).It has been identified that anthropogenic pollution is formed by the industrial-transportsector and varies with regard to the features of the functional planning infrastructure; near the industrial facilities of the petrochemical profile in the left-Bank sector of the city, conditions for the existence of woody plants significantly worsen, which is manifested in the inhibition of their development; child morbidity rate is significantly higher in industrially polluted neighborhoods with high load of pollutant emissions from industry and transport. The diseases primarily associated with pollution are congenital anomalies, neoplasms, endocrine pathology and diseases of the urogenital area.The industrial zone is the main contributor to the total pollution of air, but the transport zoneis the main contributor to the total pollution of soil and snow cover.