Audrey J. de Nazelle (Imperial College London) and Markus Schläpfer (SFI Postdoctoral Fellow)
Abstract. Ambient air pollution ranks in the top 10 leading risk factors for mortality and disability worldwide, contributing to 3.1 million deaths annually. In a world of growing awareness of air pollution problems, cities need to target mitigation efforts to best protect its resident and tourist populations. However, when air pollution experts — whether for policy applications or epidemiology — attempt to determine how much people are exposed to, the usual practice is to assume they spend their whole life at home. The power of big data for activity tracking in air pollution exposure assignments has yet to be unleashed.
Having entered a Telecom Italia big data challenge competition, we have obtained mobile phone usage data for a period of 2 months in seven Italian cities. Based on the mobile phone activity, we estimate air pollution exposures in cities’ resident and tourist populations, accounting for people’s everyday activities in space and time. We compare resulting exposures and health outcomes to those obtained from traditional methods of exposure assessment.
The use of such big data can represent a real paradigm shift in the way air pollution research is conducted and policies are made. We are eagerly awaiting your feedback to help us win the competition and revolutionize the air pollution world.