Environmental Crowdsourcing In Moscow: Underrated Opportunities

This article analyses the results of research on how Muscovites perceive the environmental situation. A mass poll of 800 residents of Moscow conducted in June-July, 2015 provided data for the analysis. Six municipal districts have been selected for polling: Novokosino, Perovo, Sokolinaya Gora, Mozhaisky, Krylatskoye, Novo-Peredelkino. The reasons were as follows: selection was to include districts with different levels of environmental pollution, districts located in semi-peripheral and peripheral parts of the city, approximately equally remote from the center. The questionnaire consisted of the following parts: assessment of changes in the environmental situation in Moscow and in the district; ranking of polluters in the city and in the district; questions about environmental behavior of Muscovites. The research was aimed at identifying the correlation between subjective perception of residents and objective spatial and environmental differentiation in Moscow as well as assessing the potential of environmental crowdsourcing in Moscow. The article reviews the following aspects of how Muscovites perceive the environmental situation: assessment of environmental situation in the city and in model districts and comparison of their opinion to the actual environmental conditions; identification of the differences between Muscovites’ perception of city polluters and objective ranking of polluters; environmental maturity of public consciousness among metropolitans and potential readiness of various groups for participating in environment protection measures. Respondents’ assessments diverge from actual data due to lack of knowledge and environmental illiteracy, difficulties in interpreting ecological information for an ordinary person, impossibility to assess potential threat of polluters, especially if a polluter is invisible and cannot be localized. The absence of accurate and objective criteria of environmental conditions is another reason for this divergence. Residents of environmentally safe districts are prone to more positive assessments for the city in general. On the contrary, residents of less safe districts, tend to project problems of their district on the whole city, for example in Novokosino where waste incineration plant is located. Muscovites’ assessments largely depend on connectivity with the rest of the city, presence of unique natural sites (parks), proximity to polluters.