Validating Geospatial Analysis with Community Risk Perception Survey in Big Island, Hawaii

Military vehicle-generated particulate matter released into the atmosphere are possible concerns for human health. The author’s prior geospatial research has been to identify, using GIS analysis, the local populations surrounding a military installation in Hawaii that are most at-risk from the vehicle-generated particulate matter. A continuation of the past research, this project aims to assess the perceived impact of the identified dust pollution among local residents by conducting a survey through both qualitative and quantitative methods. The survey of health and public perception is then used to validate the model developed in the previous GIS analysis. This research is a contribution to the ongoing pursuit of achieving solutions to social problems through geospatial applications. Socially just environmental sustainability can begin with an identification of a problem, but must be pursued by community awareness and education. This project uses geospatial statistical analysis as a means to progress from an identified and quantified environmental problem to an assessment of the societal perception of its impact, which in turn presents an opportunity in which a community can arrive at a cooperative, sustainable solution to their environmental concerns.