The associations of real-time and perceived air pollution exposure with episode-level subjective wellbeing: a case study of a suburban community in Beijing

Journal article

Background
The dynamics of everyday life and mobility patterns are often neglected in studies examining the association between air pollution and subjective wellbeing (SWB). We investigated the association between air pollution exposure, both by ambient and perceived measurement, and subjective wellbeing for individuals’ activity episodes and trips in Beijing.

Methods
Data on 1688 activities and 573 trips were obtained from the activity-travel diary survey in the Meiheyuan residential community, Beijing, from November 2017 to January 2018. Real-time exposure to ambient air pollution (AAP) in the form of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) was collected using portable air pollution sensors, and perceived air pollution (PAP) and SWB at the episode level were acquired through activity-travel diaries. Multi-level structural equation modelling (ML-SEM) was used to investigate the associations between air pollution and SWB separately for daily activity episodes and trips.

Results
PAP is not only directly associated with SWB at both activity and trip episodes but also mediates between AAP and SWB for activities. A time-lagged effect of AAP on SWB is observed for trips, where AAP of the preceding episode is directly linked to SWB at the current episode. Location plays a fundamental role in shaping individuals’ AAP, PAP and SWB at activity episodes. The effects of start time, location, activity type and duration are primarily mediated by location and location-PAP. life circumstances shape their exposure to and perceptions of air pollution, as well as their SWB during activity and trip episodes.

Conclusion
People's perception of air pollution bears a more pronounced relationship with their satisfaction with individual activities and trips compared to the objective measurements of ambient PM_2.5 exposure. It also highlights that ambient PM_2.5 exposure during the preceding activity episode has a time-lagged effect on satisfaction with the current trip episode.

Authors: Guo, W; Schwanen, T; Brand, C; Chai, Y

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Health & Place
• Volume: 94
• Article number: 103477
• Publication date: 2025-04-30
• Acceptance date: 2025-04-23
• DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103477
• EISSN: 1873-2054
• ISSN: 1353-8292
• Language: English
• Keywords: ambient pm2.5 exposure; real-time sensing; perceived air pollution; subjective wellbeing; activity-travel episode; Beijing