Lima Metropolitan Area Research Articles

A Spatio-Temporal Behavior of PM2.5 and PM10 on Changes of Their Concentration Levels in the Metropolitan Area of Lima

A Spatio-Temporal Behavior of PM2.5 and PM10 on Changes of Their Concentration Levels in the Metropolitan Area of Lima

Vulnerabilities and exposure of recent informal urban areas in Lima, Peru

Urban areas are experiencing rapid growth, accompanied by significant disorder in Lima Metropolitan area and many other cities in South America. Due to decades of uncontrolled construction practices, it is imperative to identify and better understand the types of informalities prevalent in these recent urban areas. Addressing this lack of information is crucial for implementing appropriate countermeasures and developing new policies that benefit the communities residing in such areas. It is worth noting that understanding disaster risk aligns with the first priority of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. In this study, we propose the use of radar satellite imagery recorded by the Sentinel-1 constellation since 2017 to identify clusters of urban growth in Lima Metropolitan area. Then, the informal urban clusters can be depicted by visual inspection of the last recorded high-resolution optical image. With good spatial and temporal resolution, we identified 25 clusters informal areas. Among our findings, we observed that several of these clusters are situated in landfills comprised of construction and other waste, increasing their vulnerability to debris flow, landslides, and earthquakes. Additionally, we noted that some new urban areas mainly consist of temporarily empty houses, highlighting the feasibility of implementing countermeasures, such as relocations, in the early stages of informal occupation. These results underscore the significant contribution of satellite radar imagery in identifying recent informal urban areas.

Influence of green marketing practices on purchase intention among millennials in Lima Metropolitan Area (Peru), 2023

En el contexto contemporáneo del siglo XXI, resulta imperativo reconocer la trascendental relevancia que revisten las prácticas de marketing ecológico como una herramienta fundamental para atraer y comprometer a la generación de consumidores conocida como millennials. Esta cohorte poblacional se distingue por su elevada conciencia y sensibilidad hacia las causas ambientales, así como por su firme compromiso con la sostenibilidad, buscando de forma creciente productos y servicios que reflejen y se alineen con sus valores ecológicos. Por ello, esta investigación tuvo como objetivo primordial determinar la influencia que ejercen dichas prácticas de marketing ecológico en la intención de compra manifestada por los millennials residentes en Lima Metropolitana. Para abordar esta interrogante, se adoptó un enfoque cuantitativo, a través de un diseño de investigación no experimental de tipo transeccional correlacional-causal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 385 participantes nacidos entre 1980 y 1995, residentes en diversos distritos de la capital peruana, a quienes se les administró un instrumento de recolección de datos en formato de cuestionario elaborado con base en la escala de Likert. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron confirmar la existencia de una relación causal entre las prácticas de marketing ecológico y la intención de compra en el segmento estudiado, sustentado en el análisis del coeficiente de Nagelkerke, el cual arrojó un valor de 0.766 (76.6%), indicando una fuerza predictiva considerable.

Economic Consequences of Mass Migration: The Venezuelan Exodus in Peru

We study the effects of an unexpected and large migration from Venezuela on Peruvian labor markets. From 2017 to 2019, about 800,000 Venezuelans migrated to Peru, with 84% settling in the Lima metropolitan area. The percentage of Venezuelans in the working age population in Lima increased from nearly 0 to over 10%, with migrants having higher education on average than the local labor force. We propose a simple assignment model of the labor market, which suggests that migration will lead to a reallocation of local workers toward low-skilled jobs. Using synthetic control methods and comparing Lima with a group of other Peruvian metropolitan areas, we find evidence of adjustment in occupational structure in the direction predicted by the model with few decreases in employment of local workers. JEL Classification Codes: F22; J04; O15

Direct and indirect effects of workplace sexual harassment on the productivity of victims and witnesses: The preventive role of equitable management

This research demonstrates the impact of equitable management as a protective factor against workplace sexual harassment (WSH) and its consequences on labor productivity. It also shows that there are invisible costs for colleagues who witness WSH, through counterproductive behaviors, such as sabotage or production deviance, with an indirect decrease in labor productivity. We used a structured questionnaire that was answered by 827 women from 37 small, medium, and large private companies in the Lima Metropolitan Area, Peru. We designed a conceptual model and tested it using structural covariance equations. The results indicate that 33.5 % of women have been sexually harassed over the last 12 months, an average of 6.6 times, while 18.9 % of women have supported co-workers who were victims of WSH. Being sexually harassed at work decreases labor productivity by 43.1 % and increases the intention to desert the company by 15.2 %. Witnessing WSH increases the intention to drop out by 11.3 % and increases counterproductive behaviors by 39.6 %. We found that equitable management is a preventative factor for WSH. Equitable management not only decreases the probability of the occurrence of WSH by 2.2 times but also—if it exists—reduces its pernicious impact on productivity through various indirect effects. Equitable management can reduce the labor productivity costs caused by WSH by 4.6 times.

Pedestrian moral disengagement scale towards sustainable urban planning

This study aimed to address Goal 3.5: Reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents of the United Nations SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being (United Nations, 2023) by examining the conduct of Peruvian pedestrians and its involvement in traffic accidents. We considered the Lima Metropolitan Area as the target population because it represents the third largest part of Peru, with 8,894,412 inhabitants (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica, 2015). We developed and validated a pedestrian moral disengagement scale that provides relevant information about the justifications concerned when pedestrians commit transport infractions, which those in charge of transport management can use to make decisions regarding the design and planning of the infrastructure. The study was conducted in two phases. First, a questionnaire was developed with a 100–100-pedestrian sample in a two-stage brainstorming process validated by transport academic experts and psychologists. Second, a clustered instance of two stages of 405 pedestrians from Metropolitan Lima was analysed by applying exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results showed that the data collected were not parametric; Spearman’s correlation index validated the correlation between the items on the scale, and polychoric correlational analysis confirmed an underlying metrical variable; and the model exhibited a p-value of less than 0.001, a chi-square of 173 with 59 degrees of freedom, a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.0692, a comparative fit index (CFI) of o.937, a Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) of 0.917, and a standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) of 0.0457. The main conclusion was that the adjustment of the model was sufficient, considering the results obtained within the theoretical model proposed by Albert Bandura (1986) and within the phases of reliability and validation confirming the representation of the eight mechanisms of pedestrian moral disengagement in Metropolitan Lima through the 13 identified items. Furthermore, a chi-square analysis found that residents and commuters in the El Agustino district enjoyed holding on to moving vehicles while skating or cycling (item P1.10), with an asymptotic significance of 0.018. Similarly, residents and travellers in the Cieneguilla district were likely to ignore traffic lights and police instructions (item P1.13), with an asymptotic significance of 0.009. By comprehensively analysing district variables and considering each district's unique challenges and needs, urban planners and those in charge of transport management can develop more effective solutions that improve pedestrian safety, accessibility, and urban mobility in developing countries.

Association between Self-perceptions of Periodontal Health and Electronic Cigarette use in Young Adults

Background: The present study aimed to determine the association between self-perceptions of periodontal health and electronic cigarette use. Material and Methods: The study used an observational, analytical and cross-sectional design. 189 young adults aged 18 to 29 from the Metropolitan area of Lima, Peru, were recruited. In order to evaluate self-reported periodontal health, a questionnaire conceived by Quiroz et al. (2017) was used. This includes 13 questions divided into two dimensions (habits and self-perceived periodontal health). Poisson regression with robust variance was used to examine associations between qualitative variables and calculate raw and adjusted prevalence ratios. Results: 59.46% of participants using electronic cigarettes were found to have a poor perception of gum health. Statistically significant associations were produced between poor perceptions of gum health and vaping, regarding both raw data (PR=0.81; 95% CI: 0.69-0.95; p=0.011) and data adjusted to consider covariates (PR=0.82; 95% CI: 0.69-0.97; p=0.021). No associations were observed for the dimensions of bleeding during brushing, reddish, and/or swollen gums. Conclusion: A relationship was found between poor perceptions of gum health and electronic cigarette use.

Characterization of the Structural Typologies of Buildings in the Lima Metropolitan Area

The Lima metropolitan area is in a prone earthquake zone, which is exposed to a seismic gap; this can result in Mw 8.9 megathrust earthquake in the central Peru. After the Pisco earthquake in 2007, risk management policies changed in Peru and are improving annually. Thus, more resources are destinated to assessing earthquake hazard, vulnerability, and risk in districts of the Lima metropolitan area mainly; nevertheless, they are limited to cover in detailed the whole extension of probable affected area after this potential megathrust earthquake. Data of buildings in the Lima metropolitan area were analyzed in this paper, to provide useful information in the development of rapid methodologies of identification of buildings. The Japan Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Mitigation (CISMID) gathered these data from 2010 to 2021 in field surveys to conduct vulnerability and risk studies; the survey of building characteristics consisted of obtain mainly the number of stories, predominant material, structural systems, type of occupancy, and state of conservation. Vulnerability and risk studies for districts of the Lima metropolitan area were conducted by considering one representative building in one block. Results showed that the predominant material in the Lima metropolitan area is masonry, used in different structural systems, such as confined masonry and other which are nonengineered structures. Also, two-story buildings are predominant in the target area, followed by one and three-stories buildings. Risk assessment for the Lima metropolitan area and the study area were conducted using the data from the characterization of structural typologies obtained in this study. Approximately, 47.72% and 58.67% of buildings presented a very high-risk level in the Lima metropolitan area and the study area, respectively, under the expected earthquake scenario due to the seismic gap in the central Peru.

Analysis of Adaptive Pushover in Confined Masonry Dwellings with Height Irregularity in the Lima Metropolitan Area

Non-engineered confined masonry dwellings are characterized by having different masonry units. One of the most common cases in the Lima Metropolitan Area is that this type of dwelling has its first floors with handmade solid units and upper floors are composed of industrial horizontal hollowed (tubular) bricks. Nonlinear static analysis by the incrementally increasing loading pattern is inadequate to estimating earthquake response of structures with height irregularity, such as non-engineered confined masonry dwellings, because the loading pattern changes during the history of reversal loads due to damaging earthquakes. This paper presents the effect of nonlinear static analysis using adaptive loading patterns in confined masonry dwellings when the type of masonry units changes drastically. Nonlinear static analyses are applied using non-adaptive and adaptive displacement-based pushover procedures. A series of nonlinear time history analyses are also conducted to measure the error in the estimation of the seismic response. The adaptive loading pattern is based on displacement approximation by the modal analysis at each step of incremental-increasing loads. The load pattern is updated considering the modal analysis of an equivalent linear model using the equivalent stiffness of the structure at the secant of the maximum previous response. The application of the adaptive loading pattern in nonlinear static analysis significantly approximates the earthquake response of confined masonry dwellings with height irregularity provided by the change of masonry bricks.

Special Issue on Development of Integrated Expert System for Estimation and Observation of Damage Level of Infrastructure in Lima Metropolitan Area

Earthquakes and tsunami disasters happen suddenly, devastating cities in just a few minutes. For decision makers to manage such disasters, they need current information on the status of their cities, but all information is collected separately and on paper now. All disaster-related information should be integrated to support decision making. To develop such an integrated system, Peru and Japan launched a new SATREPS project, “Development of Integrated Expert System for Estimation and Observation of Damage Level of Infrastructure in Lima Metropolitan Area,” in 2021. The project consists of four groups. Group 1 is related to earthquake and tsunami hazards, estimating the level of shaking and predicting the damage due to tsunami. Group 2 is related to damage detection/estimation, using sensing devices to estimate the level of damage to buildings and other infrastructure. Group 3 is related to understanding the damage over a wide area through satellite images, and also to the integration of all information from Groups 1 to 3. Group 4 is related to developing the capacity to utilize the integrated expert system. This special issue has been organized to present the progress accomplished in the first two years and to share the project’s achievements. It covers the fields of earthquake hazards, building and infrastructure damage estimation, damage estimation with satellite imagery, and human loss estimation.

Earthquake Damage Assessment of Buried Pipeline Networks in the Lima Metropolitan Area

Lifelines such as drinking water and sewage systems provide the means and conveyance for daily critical services, and they are essential systems for recovery operations after a damaging earthquake. Therefore, earthquake damage to lifeline components needs to be reliably assessed for a possible future seismic scenario. This study presents an earthquake damage assessment of buried pipeline networks in the Lima Metropolitan Area (LMA). It includes seismic hazard analysis, a review of pipeline network datasets, and the selection of empirical fragility functions. Deterministic seismic hazard analysis was performed for an inter-plate earthquake scenario using ground motion prediction equations and site conditions to compute the distribution of the peak ground velocity (PGV). Recommendations are offered for an adequate selection of fragility functions developed in other regions, and a logic tree of fragility functions is proposed to be used in pipelines of LMA according to the data of pipeline damage after the 2007 Pisco Earthquake. Finally, the pipeline repair ratios and the total number of repairs are estimated for the earthquake scenario, and the results are geographically presented for each pipeline network.

Revising the 2007 Peru Earthquake Damage Monitoring Using Machine Learning Models and Satellite Imagery

We revised the building damage caused by the 2007 Pisco-Peru Earthquake using machine learning models and high-resolution satellite imagery. A framework for rapidly detecting collapsed buildings was proposed in the project “Development of Integrated Expert System for Estimation and Observation of Damage Level of Infrastructure in Lima Metropolitan Area” (JST-JICA SATREPS). The framework is based on a semantic segmentation model trained on freely available satellite and aerial imagery that does not include the target area. Thus, the generalization performance of the proposed framework was analyzed. Qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrated that the proposed framework successfully predicted the distribution of collapsed buildings in Pisco. Moreover, it also reflects the ability to detect newly placed shelters. Our current trained model enables the rapid estimation of damaged buildings, crucial information for emergency response, and temporary refuges, which are also essential for fast rescue actions.

Wavelet Transform Method for the Evaluation of the Seismic Response of One Isolated Building in the Lima Metropolitan Area

Structural health monitoring based on vibration measurements is a process that implements the instrumentation of sensors and methodologies to provide information regarding the condition of a structure, which allows the evaluation of the safety and integrity of structural systems. Because of this, in the past decades, several algorithms have been developed; among them, the wavelet transform is considered an efficient method for the elimination of the error contained in the acceleration recorded by the sensors. However, due to the complex nature of earthquakes and the particularity of the structural systems, the parameters used by the wavelet transform for error elimination in the seismic response are frequently variable. This paper proposes a method to get the seismic response of a base-isolated building subjected to ground-strong motions through numerical simulations of a mathematical model of the structure, using synthetic records based on historical seismic events occurring in Peru. In this way, the research found that the optimal intrinsic parameters of the building correspond to an approximate frequency interval of 0.20 to 6.25 Hz. Finally, the results show that this method is valid and can be reliably applied in structural health monitoring systems.

Association between Self-perceptions of Periodontal Health and Electronic Cigarette use in Young Adults

Background: The present study aimed to determine the association between self-perceptions of periodontal health and electronic cigarette use. Material and Methods: The study used an observational, analytical and cross-sectional design. 189 young adults aged 18 to 29 from the Metropolitan area of Lima, Peru, were recruited. In order to evaluate self-reported periodontal health, a questionnaire conceived by Quiroz et al. (2017) was used. This includes 13 questions divided into two dimensions (habits and self-perceived periodontal health). Poisson regression with robust variance was used to examine associations between qualitative variables and calculate raw and adjusted prevalence ratios. Results: 59.46% of participants using electronic cigarettes were found to have a poor perception of gum health. Statistically significant associations were produced between poor perceptions of gum health and vaping, regarding both raw data (PR=0.81; 95% CI: 0.69-0.95; p=0.011) and data adjusted to consider covariates (PR=0.82; 95% CI: 0.69-0.97; p=0.021). No associations were observed for the dimensions of bleeding during brushing, reddish, and/or swollen gums. Conclusion: A relationship was found between poor perceptions of gum health and electronic cigarette use.

Tsunami early warning system using offshore tsunameters in Peru

Earthquakes occurring in the Peru-Chile Trench can trigger tsunamis that damage the Peruvian coast. The Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation plans to install three offshore tsunameters in 2023. We propose a tsunami early warning system that uses these tsunameters and targets the Lima Metropolitan Area (LMA), based on the inversion of the initial sea-surface distribution and the superposition of Green's function. Four coastal stations were selected to test the system using historical tsunami events. The forecasts made 15 min after the earthquake had accuracies of 77.0% and 19.4% for the 1966 Huacho and 2001 Camana earthquakes, respectively, whereas the forecasts made 30 min after the earthquake had accuracies of 82.4% and 98.9% for the 1966 and 2001 events, respectively. These results confirmed that the three planned offshore tsunameters will be reliable for making tsunami early warning for the LMA. Moreover, we tested the system using six and ten offshore tsunameters. An increase in the number of offshore tsunameters generally improved the forecast accuracy, but the improvement was not significant. This study is the first to investigate a tsunami early warning algorithm using offshore tsunameters for the Peruvian coast. The results are helpful in mitigating coastal hazards at a reasonable cost.

A prospective cohort study of economic and nutritional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in urban Callao, Lima, Peru

Background: Peru followed strict quarantine measures to control COVID-19 but reported excess mortality rates during the pandemic that were the highest globally. High obesity prevalence in Peru may have contributed to COVID-19 mortality, although economic hardship during the pandemic could have reduced obesity. To investigate these potential associations, we updated surveys of economic status, nutritional status, and risk factors for severe COVID-19 in residents of Callao, in the Lima metropolitan area of Peru. Methods: We attempted in December 2021 to invite members of households selected randomly from a map that had provided data in previous surveys 2016-2018 and 2019-2020 to participate in another survey. Households were contacted by telephone and, if uncontactable, were visited. Demographic, economic, and health-related data were collected using the Kobo toolbox platform. Results. We interviewed 83% (305/369) of censused household members for 65% (90/138) of previously participating households. Dissaving activities were reported by all households during the pandemic, more than 2016-2018 (51%, 95% confidence interval, CI=41-62%) and 2019-2020 (44%, 95%CI=33-53%, both p<0.0001). Moreover, 90% (81/90, 95%CI=82-95%) of households reported inability to afford sufficient food and hunger rates increased 1.4 times compared with 2016-2018 (95%CI=1.02, 2.0, p=0.04). Despite financial and food insecurity during the pandemic, the mean adult body mass index was maintained unchanged from the 2019-2020 survey at 27 kg/m2 (standard deviation, SD=4.5 kg/m2), having increased (p=0.0001) from 26 kg/m2 (SD=4.1 kg/m2) in 2016-2018. Overweight/obesity was the most common risk factor for severe COVID-19, and adults were 3.1 times (95%CI=2.3-4.2, p<0.0001) more likely to be overweight/obese than they were to have a co-morbid illness. There was considerable dietary diversity and only 23% of participants had taken micronutrient supplements and 11% probiotics in the past year. Conclusion: Obesity was the most prevalent risk factor for severe COVID-19 despite economic pressure, food insecurity, and hunger during the pandemic.

Association between health care facility level and compliance with informative elements of informed consent forms, 2019-2021

Objective: To identify the relationship between public health care facility level and compliance with the essential and desired informative elements of informed consent (IC) forms, Lima Metropolitan Area, 2019-2021.Materials and methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 455 IC forms used in public tertiary health care facilities—hospitals (III-1, III-E) and specialized health care institutions (III-2)—were analyzed to assess the compliance of 22 essential and nine desired elements set forth in the current Peruvian laws and regulations and provided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). This matrix was submitted to the opinion of a group of experts made up of 11 lawyers and health professionals, registering a Kappa coefficient of 1, which implies a “perfect agreement.” In addition, expert competence coefficient (K) was assessed, registering among the specialists an average of 0.92, which represents a “high influence.” Statistical tests such as Spearman's correlation coefficient, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and Cramér’s phi were performed. Results: IC forms were mostly developed by the specialized health care institutions (66.00 %) and the medical activity (96.90 %) prevailed in said forms. Compliance with the essential (Rho = 0.69) and desired (Rho = 0.64) informative elements showed a significant relationship (p < 0.05) with the health care facility level. The elements "Benefits," "Drug adverse effects,” “Prognosis” and “Recommendations” showed a significant positive relationship (p < 0.05; Φ > 0.00). The elements "Procedure duration," "Contraindications" and "Solution to questions" showed a significant negative relationship (p < 0.05; Φ < 0.00). Conclusions: There is an association between health care facility level and compliance with the essential and desired informative elements of IC forms in public health care facilities in Lima Metropolitan Area between 2019 and 2021.

Records of breeding activity in birds of the Lima Metropolitan Area, central coast of Peru, based on citizen science data

Records of breeding activity in birds of the Lima Metropolitan Area, central coast of Peru, based on citizen science data

A machine learning approach to analyse ozone concentration in metropolitan area of Lima, Peru

The main objective of this study is to model the concentration of ozone in the winter season on air quality through machine learning algorithms, detecting its impact on population health. The study area involves four monitoring stations: Ate, San Borja, Santa Anita and Campo de Marte, all located in Metropolitan Lima during the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Exploratory, correlational and predictive approaches are presented. The exploratory results showed that ATE is the station with the highest prevalence of ozone pollution. Likewise, in an hourly scale analysis, the pollution peaks were reported at 00:00 and 14:00. Finally, the machine learning models that showed the best predictive capacity for adjusting the ozone concentration were the linear regression and support vector machine.

Water-Sensitive Urban Plan for Lima Metropolitan Area (Peru) Based on Changes in the Urban Landscape from 1990 to 2021

Lima is the second-largest capital of the world located in a desert and already faces water scarcity. Here, more than 30% of the population is supplied by only 2.2% of the national water resources. The urbanization process has an informal nature and occurs at a very accelerated rate. These new settlements lack water infrastructure and access to other services. The objectives of this study are to quantify changes in the urban landscape of Lima Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2021 to propose a water-sensitive urban plan by detecting changes, urbanization trends and identifying alternative water sources. The trend suggests a future constant increment of the urban areas, diversification of the landscape and more equally distributed land cover. Lima has more disconnected settlements and more complex shapes of urban patches nowadays. The landscape is also more mingled, but cracked. Overall, the trend is to become more disaggregated, demanding small and scattered water solutions. The WSUP includes the implementation of treatment plants in new multi-family buildings, hybrid desalination plants at the coast and parks with fog collectors on the hills. Additionally, these solutions will require the beneficiary community and the local authorities to work together in the planning and maintenance.