title: Making Air Pollution Visible: A Tool for Promoting Environmental Health Literacy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Digital maps are instrumental in conveying information about environmental hazards geographically. For laypersons, computer-based maps can serve as tools to promote environmental health literacy about invisible traffic-related air pollution and ultrafine particles. Concentrations of these pollutants are higher near major roadways and increasingly linked to adverse health effects. Interactive computer maps provide visualizations that can allow users to build mental models of the spatial distribution of ultrafine particles in a community and learn about the risk of exposure in a geographic context.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this work was to develop a new software tool appropriate for educating members of the Boston Chinatown community (Boston, MA, USA) about the nature and potential health risks of traffic-related air pollution. The tool, the Interactive Map of Chinatown Traffic Pollution ("Air Pollution Map" hereafter), is a prototype that can be adapted for the purpose of educating community members across a range of socioeconomic contexts.
  
  
  METHODS
  We built the educational visualization tool on the open source Weave software platform. We designed the tool as the centerpiece of a multimodal and intergenerational educational intervention about the health risk of traffic-related air pollution. We used a previously published fine resolution (20 m) hourly land-use regression model of ultrafine particles as the algorithm for predicting pollution levels and applied it to one neighborhood, Boston Chinatown. In designing the map, we consulted community experts to help customize the user interface to communication styles prevalent in the target community.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The product is a map that displays ultrafine particulate concentrations averaged across census blocks using a color gradation from white to dark red. The interactive features allow users to explore and learn how changing meteorological conditions and traffic volume influence ultrafine particle concentrations. Users can also select from multiple map layers, such as a street map or satellite view. The map legends and labels are available in both Chinese and English, and are thus accessible to immigrants and residents with proficiency in either language. The map can be either Web or desktop based.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Air Pollution Map incorporates relevant language and landmarks to make complex scientific information about ultrafine particles accessible to members of the Boston Chinatown community. In future work, we will test the map in an educational intervention that features intergenerational colearning and the use of supplementary multimedia presentations.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integration of Science and Industry, Bentley University, Waltham, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Ekaterina Galkina
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9384-4020
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States.
authors.forename: Allison P
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8334-3580
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.|Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Hsin-Ching
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9556-456X
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4416-4889
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Computer Science Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3603-802X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stubblefield
authors.affiliation: Computer Science Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, United States.
authors.forename: William
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4671-0924
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mass
authors.affiliation: Computer Science Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, United States.|Center for Data Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Georges
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2388-6601
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grinstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1871-1516
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch-Weser
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.|Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6812-2720
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brugge
authors.affiliation: Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1873-7142
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wong
keywords: air pollution; computer visualization; computer-based education; digital cartography; environmental health; environmental health literacy; health communication; immigrant education; ultrafine particles