Exploring the Institutional and Bottom-Up Actions for Urban Air Quality Improvement: Case Studies in Antwerp and Gdańsk

Joanna Badach, Małgorzata Dymnicka, Jarosław Załęcki, Maciej Brosz, Dimitri Voordeckers and Maarten Van Acker
Additional contact information
Joanna Badach: Department of Urban Architecture and Waterscapes, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Małgorzata Dymnicka: Department of Urban Design and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Jarosław Załęcki: Department of Applied Sociology, Institute of Sociology, University of Gdańsk, 4 Bażyńskiego Street, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland
Maciej Brosz: Department of Applied Sociology, Institute of Sociology, University of Gdańsk, 4 Bażyńskiego Street, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland
Dimitri Voordeckers: Research Group for Urban Development, Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, Mutsaardstraat 31, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Maarten Van Acker: Research Group for Urban Development, Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, Mutsaardstraat 31, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: The article presents the results of qualitative studies concerning the presence of air quality management in the process of urban planning and in the public discourse in Antwerp, Belgium, and Gdańsk, Poland. We focused on the way urban planners, environmental experts, and stakeholders perceive the problem of air pollution, especially with respect to urban development policy, and whether they consider it one of the major factors determining the quality of the urban built environment. The analysis was empirically based on free, partially structured interviews with experts. With that aim, we referred to certain assumptions of the multidimensional concept of environmental protection and integrated urban planning, highlighting the knowledge gained through interview analysis, literature review, and comparative case study research. The approach brings to light the difference between the perceived and measured air quality and to what extent it is affected by the spatial conditions. The research reveals how the range of perceptions of air pollution is embedded in several sociological, urban planning, and cultural perspectives and how these perceptions differ between the different profiles of the stakeholders and experts.

Keywords: air pollution; air quality management; environmental participation; integrated urban planning; public discourse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11790-:d:664477

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