Active Transportation Decision-Making against the Background of Air Quality Information Provision: Walking Route Preferences of German Residents

摘要

The study aims to assess whether, and how, provision of information about air quality along inner-city roads influences individualsa?? intentions to walk further away from traffic-dense roads. In an experiment, German residents (n = 597) were either exposed to a map that showed, or a map that did not show, air pollution levels along two routes. The routes had the same starting and end points but differed with respect to expected traffic density. Furthermore, the availability of green space (i.e., a park environment) and two air pollution information provision elementsa??traffic light color-coding and explanations about the relationship between air pollution and healtha??were experimentally manipulated. Both the availability of green space and the provision of air quality information along the two routes increased the intentions to walk along the low (vs. high) traffic density road. Spatial psychological distance mediated the effect of the availability of green space on intentions to walk along the low traffic density road. The mediation effect disappeared when traffic lights were used for informing individuals about air pollution levels. Public policy makers can therefore be recommended to increase availability of green space and raise awareness of air quality conditions along roads via intuitively interpretable schemes.