GI_Forum 2018, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 275-293, 2018/12/10
Journal for Geographic Information Science
The complex nature of air quality suggests the need for fine-scale air-quality monitoring in cities. With 1 in 8 deaths worldwide being associated with air pollution in 2012, communities have started partnering with academic institutions and with state and federal agencies to assess local air quality and address these concerns. Participatory sensing has recently become one popular method for collecting air-quality information. It offers the prospect of collecting data at finer levels of granularity, but is subject to at least two significant challenges: data gaps (due, e.g., to the lack of calibration, maintenance and replacement of sensors), and citizens’ concerns regarding privacy). We argue that including housing companies as stakeholders in participatory sensing frameworks may be beneficial in overcoming these challenges. A survey of housing companies suggests that they are willing to participate in air-quality monitoring for cities. The ideas presented here are pertinent to the design of more robust and privacy-aware participatory sensing frameworks.
Keywords: air pollution, participatory sensing, privacy, volunteered geographic information, housing companies
