Designing an Intervention for Creating Awareness in Motorists about Vehicle Emission Consequences on Human Health

Jylhä, A., Harraou, I., Quanjer, A.J., van Leeuwen, J.P. 2019. “Designing an Intervention for Creating Awareness in Motorists about Vehicle Emission Consequences on Human Health.” In: Schnädelbach, H. and Kirk, D. (Eds.) People, Personal Data and the Built Environment.Springer Series in Adaptive Environments. Springer International Publishing.

Abstract

Exhaust emissions from motorized vehicles are not only harmful to the environment but also to human health. However, motorists are not necessarily aware of the adverse health effects resulting from their emissions. In this work, we use the health aspect as a primary motivation factor in the design of an interven- tion targeted at reducing exhaust emissions. Based on research into the problem domain and the target group, we propose a design for a behavior-change interven- tion, consisting of an infrastructure of large public displays and a mobile applica- tion. In a design prototype, we incorporate two approaches, shaming and empow- erment, designed to engage motorists with the intervention. An experimental evaluation of the prototype suggests that shaming can have a lot of potential in providing motivation for change, while empowerment is also needed inside the application for helping the drivers reduce their emissions by means of more effi- cient traveling. Based on the findings, we discuss the role of personal data in the intervention and outline possibilities for realizing the design as part of the built environment.

Using Behavior Data for Creating Awareness in Motorists about Emission Consequences

Jylhä, A., Harraou, I., Quanjer, A.J., van Leeuwen, J.P. 2017. “Using Behavior Data for Creating Awareness in Motorists about Emission Consequences.” In: Proceedings of the workshop on People, Personal Data and the Built Environment at DIS 2017. Edinburgh, June 10, 2017.

Abstract | Full text

Personal data is increasingly used by cities to track the behavior of their inhabitants. While the data is often used to mainly provide information to the authorities, it can also be harnessed for providing information to the citizens in real-time. In an on-going research project on increasing the awareness of motorists w.r.t. the environmental consequences of their driving behavior, we make use of sensors, artificial intelligence, and real- time feedback to design an intervention. A key component for successful deployment of the system is data related to the personal driving behavior of individual motorists. Through this outset, we identify challenges and research questions that relate to the use of personal data in systems, which are designed to increase the quality of life of the inhabitants of the built environment.