Air quality perception of pedestrians in an urban outdoor Mediterranean environment: A field survey approach.
Perception plays a significant role on people's response to preventive measures. In the view of public awareness, the aim of this study was to explore factors that affect air quality perception and to reveal its potential patterns. Air quality perception of individuals, in terms of dust and overall air quality, was examined in relation to air pollutants concentrations, meteorological variables, personal characteristics as well as their thermal sensation and health condition. The data used were obtained from environmental measurements, in situ and from stations, and questionnaire surveys conducted in an outdoor urban Mediterranean area, Athens, Greece. The participants were asked to report their air quality perception and thermal sensation based on predefined scales. A thermal index, Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), was estimated to obtain an objective measure of thermal sensation. Particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen oxide (NO) were associated with dust perception. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) were associated to air quality perception. Age, area of residence, health symptoms and thermal sensation also affected the perception of air quality. Dusty or poor air quality conditions were more likely to be reported when pollutants' concentrations were increased. Younger people, participants residing in the city center, experiencing health symptoms or warm thermal sensation showed a trend towards reporting more unfavorable air quality conditions.
Department of Environmental Physics and Meteorology, Faculty of Physics, University of Athens, University Campus, Zografou, Building Physics 5, 157 84, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: kpantav@phys.uoa.gr.
Katerina
K
Pantavou
National Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, I. Metaxa and V. Pavlou, P. Penteli, 152 36, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: slykoud@yahoo.com.
Spyridon
S
Lykoudis
National Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, I. Metaxa and V. Pavlou, P. Penteli, 152 36, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: bill@meteo.noa.gr.
Basil
B
Psiloglou
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants; D000397:Air Pollution; D002947:Cities; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052638:Particulate Matter; D000069636:Pedestrians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013697:Thermosensing; D055815:Young Adult
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
Air pollution; Environmental perception; Health effects; Questionnaires; Thermal sensation