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The Home Halo Effect: how Air Quality Perception is Influenced by Place Attachment

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Abstract

Studies on air pollution suggest that individuals perceive their neighborhoods as less polluted than their cities, termed the “halo effect.” This effect is important because how people perceive air quality is highly correlated with whether they will develop coping strategies to reduce health risks from air pollution. We conducted 489 household surveys in two municipalities in south-central Chile, both highly polluted with smoke from wood-burning stoves, to identify differences in perception of air quality at the city, neighborhood, and household levels. We found evidence of a home halo effect even though studies show indoor pollution in these municipalities might be equal to or higher than outdoor pollution. The findings are relevant for local and central governments to improve their communication strategies, which to date have been focused on providing data about outdoor air pollution aggregated at the city level. More detailed and disaggregated information on the health risks linked to indoor air quality can improve residents’ awareness and engagement in developing protective and coping behaviors concerning air pollution.

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Notes

  1. The macrozones are areas where the government bans the use of wood-burning stoves between April 1st and September 30th. From 6 PM to 6 AM, households in the macrozones are prohibited from using wood-burning stoves when a health alert is declared.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their funder; the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), Chile [grant numbers: FONDECYT 11150262 and 1190412].

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Correspondence to Àlex Boso.

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Hofflinger, Á., Boso, À. & Oltra, C. The Home Halo Effect: how Air Quality Perception is Influenced by Place Attachment. Hum Ecol 47, 589–600 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-019-00100-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-019-00100-z

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