"What they say about us, without us": exploring the inequalities of environmental engagement across the urban locale

By Shaun Danquah and Paul Addae

Pollution disproportionally impacts black communities in London, as young children with no history of respiratory or cardiovascular conditions have developed lung irritation, respiratory infections and severe asthma. This has happened in Lambeth, Southwark and other parts of inner-city London due to high exposure to nitrogen oxide. This trend is seen across the board in the developed world in conurbations where minority communities reside. Minority communities have had increased exposure to environmental pollutants reflective of legacies of environmental racism whereby systems have produced and perpetuated inequalities. Inadequate testing of chemicals, corporate loopholes, racism and housing discrimination all factor into this. The Grenfell tragedy is emblematic of years of socio-economic factors which impact the disproportionate distribution of hazardous materials, environmental risks and regulatory failure in densely populated areas where Black, Asian and minority ethnic people live. 

These areas in the urban locale and inner cities are occupied by communities who produce the least pollution yet at the same are impacted the most by pollution. However, within the communities where air pollution has been an issue, it is also evident that the awareness of this air pollution problem, and wider environmental issues, have not really resonated in ways which other causes and campaigns within these same locales have. 

The perception that it’s an issue that is too far-removed

There’s a myriad of factors for this. The first of which is that people from BAME communities can’t often relate to environmental causes, not necessarily because of a lack of local environmental concern, but more because their attention is focused on other social crises that feel more pertinent in the moment. These social crises are then viewed in comparison to impending climate catastrophes which seem both distant and lack any palpable accountability.

Additionally, for a variety of concerns people cannot merely attend a protest for a few days and lie down in the middle of busy streets. This is not an option for many people from the disadvantaged conurbations of London. “Where are the public spaces where we can be an active participant of our own environmental future?” a local resident remarked in our recent community-led air pollution surveying of the Oval/Vauxhall area.

Hyper-gentrification leading to social stratification

Secondly, most environmental campaigns in urban spaces have not taken on the concerns of poorer residents. Hyper-gentrification in inner-city London has led to social stratification, as middle-class residents benefit from their cultural and social capital, to carve out ‘green spaces’ to meet their needs. All the while, those who have played a role in community activism and local reform against exclusionary measures over the decades, as well as the communities who have added the vibrancy to the locales, have effectively been erased from this new spirit of gentrified urbanism. 

"The ethic of a locale is created within the people and not in the procedure"
Marcus Tayebwa, an Urban Social Researcher who lead the Oval/Vauxhall Air Pollution surveying intelligence gathering.

Of this experience, Marcus shares: “leading 17 locals in a collaborative air pollution surveying team, we tapped into the nuanced insight that their position within their locale afforded them. We were able to empower them by co-designing and producing the research model with them and were able to also examine and implement their critiques both in ethics and operationally.” 

Youth engagement was a particular focus for our surveying team which included local young men, who were directive of the cultural nuance we were able to work with. Marcus highlighted, "the next generation is the generation that is most likely to suggest and act on more culturally equitable and progressive activism, as they are on the forefront of developing their responses to emerging geo-demographic challenges. There is huge value in listening to the voices we do not hear from as much as we'd like to."

Excluded systemically and institutionally from the cause

Thirdly, environmental groups are not inclusive, along ethnic and class lines, and only recently has this started to be acknowledged. When we were speaking to local parents during our street-led research, one person observed: "Why aren’t black people perceived as being environmentally concerned?"

Today, there is an acknowledgement that these issues now need to be taken into consideration, though this is rather belated." There is a dearth of Black participation in the forums where their voices would be of most practical use" our local focus group.

What is therefore needed is less “talking about us, without us” and moving towards a more inclusive, collaborative approach to tackling environmental issues and air pollution in the inner-city. "We need solid platforms and models that have a specified community-led ethic and leave a legacy within the urban locale" is something Lambeth residents have told us. 

A dramatic shift needed with those involved in driving the environmental agenda forward

A more innovative, new grassroots approach is needed where younger generations, starting in schools and colleges, and the disruptive entrepreneurial youth are more actively involved in redirecting the environmental narrative in the urban realm. As a local youth worker who was part of our surveying team astutely said: “the rapidly changing social climate seen in the summer of 2020 means we now need new approaches that can evolve with the expanding ecology of community and youth-led engagement."

Some of the key insights from our research showed that there is dominance by middle England when it comes to these agendas. Black insight is nowhere to be seen in a replicable model or best practice that would speak to local agendas. As one person said, "what they say about us, without us, has taken precedence over a genuine collaborative movement that provides the platform for the voiceless to have a voice"

There must be a different strategy for the environmental narrative within BAME communities moving forward.