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Driving less for better air: Impacts of a public information campaign
Author(s) -
Henry Gary T.,
Gordon Craig S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.10095
Subject(s) - air quality index , metropolitan area , business , government (linguistics) , atlanta , sanctions , trips architecture , quality (philosophy) , population , environmental health , political science , transport engineering , engineering , geography , medicine , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology , epistemology , meteorology , law
In the wake of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, localities across the United States initiated publicinformation campaigns both to raise awareness of threats to air quality and to change behavior related to airpollution by recommending specific behavioral changes in the campaign messages. These campaigns are designed toreduce the health hazards associated with poor air quality and to avoid federal sanctions resulting from thefailure to meet air quality standards. As in many other communities across the country, a coalition of governmentagencies and businesses initiated a public information campaign in the Atlanta metropolitan region to reducecertain targeted behaviors, mainly driving. A two‐stage model used to analyze data from a rolling samplesurvey shows that the centerpiece of the information campaign—air quality alerts—was effective inraising awareness and reducing driving in a segment of the population. When the overall information campaign wasmoderated by employers' participation in programs to improve air quality, drivers significantly reduced thenumber of miles they drove and the number of trips they took by car on days when air quality alerts were sounded.Public information campaigns can be successful in increasing awareness, but changing well‐establishedbehaviors, such as driving, is likely to require institutional mediation to provide social contexts that supportthe behavioral change, as well. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.