Frequent disruptions like highway constructions are common now-a-days, often impacting environmental justice communities (communities with low socio-economic status with disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects) that live nearby. Based on our interactions via focus groups with the members of four environmental justice communities impacted by a major highway construction, a common concern is a sense of uncertainty about project activities and loss of social connectedness, leading to increased stress, depression, anxiety and diminished well-being. This paper addresses this concern by developing a localized social media system called PureConnect with a goal to raise the level of awareness about the project and increase social connectedness among the community members. PureConnect has been designed using active engagement with four environmental justice communities affected by a major highway construction. It has been deployed in the real world among the members of the four environmental justice communities, and a detailed analysis of the data collected from this deployment as well as surveys show that PureConnect is potentially useful in improving community members' well-being and the members appreciate the functionalities it provides.

翻译：频繁的干扰（如高速公路建设）如今已司空见惯，往往对居住其附近的环保正义社区（指处于社会经济劣势地位、承受着不成比例且严重的人体健康与环境影响的社区）造成影响。通过焦点小组与四个受重大高速公路建设影响的环保正义社区成员的互动，我们发现一个普遍关切：对项目活动的不确定感与社会联结的丧失，导致压力、抑郁、焦虑加剧及幸福感下降。本文通过开发名为PureConnect的本土化社交媒体系统来应对这一关切，旨在提高社区成员对项目的认知水平并增强社会联结。PureConnect的设计基于与四个受重大高速公路建设影响的环保正义社区的积极互动，并在真实环境中部署于这四个社区的成员中。通过对部署数据及问卷调查的详细分析表明，PureConnect在改善社区成员幸福感方面具有潜在效用，且用户对其提供的功能表示认可。