Environmental justice in the context of commuters' exposure to CO and PM10 in Bangalore, India.
The Information Technology (IT) industry in the globalizing city of Bangalore has transformed the socio-economic characteristics of the city. The intent of this study, developed from an environmental justice framework, was to determine whether air pollutant exposure while commuting to and from work is related to a commuter's income characteristics and whether differences are larger for the IT economy when compared with a traditional manufacturing-oriented economy of the city. The study measured exposures to CO and PM10 using personal samplers for a sample of employees of a traditional public sector manufacturing industry (n=20) and an IT industry (n=26). This approach overcomes the methodological limitations of previous environmental justice studies. Socio-economic characteristics were obtained from a questionnaire-based survey of 436 employees in two firms. The results do not support the environmental justice hypothesis for commuting in Bangalore mainly because longer commuting times of higher-income groups offsets the benefits of lower pollutant concentrations. The study nevertheless demonstrates the use of personal exposure for environmental justice assessments.
1] East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, USA [2] Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Saunders Hall, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Ashwin
A
Sabapathy
East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Sumeet
S
Saksena
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Saunders Hall, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Peter
P
Flachsbart
D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D066192:Manufacturing Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013672:Technology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014186:Transportation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D002248:Carbon Monoxide