Through Internet and Friends: Translation of Air Pollution Research in Malmö Municipality, Sweden

Ebba Lisberg Jensen, Karin Westerberg, Ebba Malmqvist and Anna Oudin
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Ebba Lisberg Jensen: Urban Studies, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, Sweden
Karin Westerberg: Urban Studies, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, Sweden
Ebba Malmqvist: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department for Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Tornblad Institute, Biskopsgatan 9, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
Anna Oudin: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department for Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Tornblad Institute, Biskopsgatan 9, 223 62 Lund, Sweden

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Air pollution is estimated to cause more than 7000 deaths annually in Sweden alone. To reduce the impact of air pollution and to plan and build sustainable cities, it is vital that research is translated into efficient decisions and practice. However, how do civil servants in a municipality access research results? How do they normally find relevant information, and what obstacles are there to accessing and applying research results? As part of the collaborative and transdisciplinary research project Air Pollution Research in Local Environmental Planning (ARIEL), these questions were explored through interviews and seminars with civil servants within the Malmö Municipality Environmental Office. We found that the civil servants generally have proficiency in processing research results, but often do not use such results as part of their everyday decision making and practices. Instead, the data and measurements used are mostly produced case-by-case within the municipal sector itself. Information about best practices is also collected via a number of knowledge access practices, involving the Internet or social networks within other municipalities. Lack of time, paywalls, and the insufficient applicability of research hinder the dissemination of up-to-date results. This slows down the process whereby research, funded by tax-money, can be put to best practice in the effort to create healthy and sustainable cities.

Keywords: air pollution abatement; public health; research knowledge translation; sustainable urban planning; municipal civil servants; sustainable urban development; knowledge access practices; collaborative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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