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<p>Air pollution is an environmental and public health problem in secondary cities; yet residents’ awareness and knowledge of it are rarely empirically assessed. This study assesses Winneba residents' awareness and knowledge of urban air pollution. Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) and Sensory Perception Theory (SPT) were adopted in a phenomenological study involving 20 participants through interviews and field observations. Following COREQ principles and the Braun and Clarke approach, a manual inductive thematic analysis was employed. The findings reveal that residents exhibit strong awareness of air pollution through sensory cues (odour, smoke, and dust). Open burning, dumpsite odour, fish smoking, and dust were the main sources of pollution, determined by location and occupation. Experiential, intergenerational, and formal knowledge shaped residents’ air pollution knowledge in the study context. Beyond the findings, this study proposes sensory environmental literacy (SEL) as a new conceptual model that illustrates how, through repeated sensory experiences interpreted through LEK, residents become aware of environmental risk even without scientific understanding or sophisticated air quality monitoring. Sensory perception provides a base for generating environmental knowledge, which is lacking due to the lack of official monitoring systems. Expanding environmental literacy scholarship, this research contributes to the idea of perceiving the environment not only through formal networks but also through complementary processes of relating sensory perceptions and LEK as sources for building environmental consciousness among residents of less resource-rich, secondary urban cities. Community-based environmental education, participatory governance, and local sanitation infrastructure are needed to supportsustainable urban air quality.</p>

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When the Air is Polluted, I Know it from the Smell: Sensory Awareness of Urban Air Pollution in Winneba, a Secondary Ghanaian City

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月24日

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  • Rosemond Amabea Addo,
  • Kow Ansah-Mensah

摘要

Air pollution is an environmental and public health problem in secondary cities; yet residents’ awareness and knowledge of it are rarely empirically assessed. This study assesses Winneba residents' awareness and knowledge of urban air pollution. Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) and Sensory Perception Theory (SPT) were adopted in a phenomenological study involving 20 participants through interviews and field observations. Following COREQ principles and the Braun and Clarke approach, a manual inductive thematic analysis was employed. The findings reveal that residents exhibit strong awareness of air pollution through sensory cues (odour, smoke, and dust). Open burning, dumpsite odour, fish smoking, and dust were the main sources of pollution, determined by location and occupation. Experiential, intergenerational, and formal knowledge shaped residents’ air pollution knowledge in the study context. Beyond the findings, this study proposes sensory environmental literacy (SEL) as a new conceptual model that illustrates how, through repeated sensory experiences interpreted through LEK, residents become aware of environmental risk even without scientific understanding or sophisticated air quality monitoring. Sensory perception provides a base for generating environmental knowledge, which is lacking due to the lack of official monitoring systems. Expanding environmental literacy scholarship, this research contributes to the idea of perceiving the environment not only through formal networks but also through complementary processes of relating sensory perceptions and LEK as sources for building environmental consciousness among residents of less resource-rich, secondary urban cities. Community-based environmental education, participatory governance, and local sanitation infrastructure are needed to supportsustainable urban air quality.