Discussing the impacts of air pollution and designing new ways to give underrepresented communities a voice
By Josh Fatoye
The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) was recently funded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity to start engaging with local communities in Lambeth and Southwark to discuss the impacts of air pollution and design new ways to give underrepresented communities a voice in the space. Our intern, Josh Fatoye, shares his reflections after our first air pollution forum meeting.
The problem of air pollution in London is growing and persistent. There are several types of air pollution from outdoor to indoor and within these lie several sub-categories which all stem from different activities and affect different groups more adversely. Prior to my arrival at TSIP, I wasn’t aware of the impact pollutants had, nor was I aware that certain groups are more susceptible to them. My induction made clear to me the severity of the issue, so much so that I decided to write a blog about it. The issue of poor air quality is going nowhere unless we deal with it and the first step is to spread awareness.
In my opinion, it’s clear that young adults are more concerned about the climate than generation X but there is still an obvious lack of civic engagement on environmental issues amongst millennials. The issue of air pollution is often left out of mainstream media headlines, in place of more visible matters such as knife crime and youth unemployment, meaning that there is a lack of understanding about the issue of air pollution and its effect on London’s inner city. In 2017, the London Councils reported that in London, 9,400 premature deaths are attributed to poor air quality and a cost of between £1.4 and £3.7 billion a year to the health service. Despite the media attention, the information on air pollution is often convoluted and there is little effort to demystify the technicalities. To combat some of these issues, TSIP is working with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity to engage communities in an air pollution forum to discuss community engagement methods and practical steps forward. After attending the first session, I have also started to take a more active role in raising awareness in my local community by holding regular talks about the issues and discussing potential solutions.
There is a clear lack of authentic urban voices in contemporary air pollution literature and a prevalence of white middle-class voices, which only seems to be increasing as the gentrification process continues. The main issue is, whilst members of the middle class have the luxury of geographical mobility, the urban working-class majority do not, meaning the group most affected by this issue is the least represented in its conversations. Research suggests that the middle class were also the largest contributors to the problem of air pollution which led us to the problem of systemic and environmental racism.
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) voices are often marginalised when speaking up on topics such as these and so, solutions are often found without BAME communities in mind. We found the air pollution forum was a way to combat this as it equipped BAME community members with the literature and understanding to have these conversations with both professionals and academics, alike.
Improving air quality will provide numerous benefits to London culture, from recovering the city’s biodiversity to making it a more pleasant place to live. It will also reduce the number of pollutant-related respiratory diseases and the NHS annual spend on air pollution-related diseases in London.
Personally, I think youth-led urban responses will play a vital role in creating the solution to this issue - we are the ones living through the issues so we’re the ones best placed to find the solution.
This blog is the first in a series recapping and reflecting on our series of Air Pollution Forums held in South London, so please make sure you come back to hear more about our journey. If you want to know more or want to get involved, please get in touch.