25 Include tailored communications for specific groups to connect with a group’s lived experiences and day-to-day behaviours. This approach helps raise awareness about actions that ‘people like me’ take to address an issue. Invest in developing a good communication and dissemination strategy. Use public environmental communication as an effective tool to motivate sustainable behaviour and pay attention to the role of cognitive biases, emotions (e.g., fear and hope), and expectations about the motivations of the communication source and other people’s (environmental) behaviours. Strengthen communication efforts 13 15 14 B CS C B C Changing behaviour through air quality initiatives in Ghent B CS P Example 5: Changing behaviour through air quality initiatives in Ghent The city of Ghent (Belgium) has started several local air quality monitoring initiatives to involve citizens and raise awareness. In 2016, 348 Ghent residents and 50 locations were selected to display NO2 passive samplers. In 2018, the city participated in the regional project Curieuze Neuzen. From 2022, Ghent is planning to use participatory monitoring to see changes in circulation of traffic in Ghent’s districts. This work will include behavioural research to investigate the effect on awareness of air quality, perception, motivation, thresholds, triggers and expectations, modal shifts, and support base for school streets. The city is also using communication and positive storytelling approaches in their strategy for raising awareness and behaviour change. See the full project