Collaborative Cities by Stephen Goldsmith & Kate Markin Coleman

Author:Stephen Goldsmith & Kate Markin Coleman [Goldsmith, Stephen & Markin Coleman, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Public Affairs and Administration, Geographic Information Systems, American Government, Local Government, Cartography
Publisher: Esri Press
Published: 2021-09-09T16:42:39+00:00

crowdsources smell to identify bad air across geographic regions. A large number of such reports can show how wind direction blows pollution to different geographic locations around a city so that air pollution sources can be tracked over time, which has been the case in Pittsburgh. In this way, crowdsourcing and geocoding extend a person’s sensory experience of smell to track pollution and take safety precautions.

The other sensory extension tool involves sight, through the use of Breathe Cams (https://breatheproject.org/learn/breathe-cam). These high-resolution cams are trained on the region’s most polluting facilities and record emission incidents around the clock. The cams sometimes record blue-gray puffs emitting from some of the facilities (as opposed to the white clouds that contain high amounts of water vapor). Researchers and regulators use the information to compare specific emission events with other data sources, such as smell reports, EPA monitoring data, and air quality index data. Residents are trained to monitor the cams and report pollution events at industrial plants to regulators and community leaders. With this information, Investigators can discover possible causes of air pollution.

Mehalik shared an example of how the collaboration worked after an accident at a coke works plant. On Christmas Eve, 2018, a fire and explosion shut down the pollution control equipment at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke works in the United States. Breathe Works had recorded video of the accident and shared that real-time information with state and federal regulators to ensure proper enforcement. Breathe Works made it easy for anyone to post videos or snapshots online and on social media. Concerned residents used them to prompt regulatory action. The Breathe Works collaboration offers another example of map-based data providing context for data visualization that helps residents share information, extrapolate meaning from that information, and convert that knowledge into action.

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