A Breath of Clean Air: research into the relationship between underrepresented communities and the air pollution agenda

Impact on Urban Health is running a ten-year programme to explore how poor air quality affects people’s health. They are especially interested in addressing the health effects of poor air quality on people whose health is most impacted by air pollution: children under 15 (including during pregnancy), older people and people with heart and lung conditions.

Impact on Urban Health recognised that they needed deeper insights into the relationship between underrepresented communities and air pollution. This includes people from ethnic minority communities and lower-income households. The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) was commissioned to carry out focused research into exploring this relationship more. Using the Community Research model, TSIP was able to tap into insights within these communities through both the positionality and insider status of the Community Researchers.

What did we do?

We first conducted a literature review to set the foundation for our research project. From this analysis, five key insights emerged:

There were four identified reasons for the lack of minority representation within air pollution, including language/accessibility, prioritisation, fear of speaking out and environmental racism.
The current literature is lacking in authentic urban voices, it is missing an interdisciplinary approach and has a prevalence of white middle-class voices.

There are links between air pollution, deprivation, COVID-19 and minority communities.
There is a history of environmental activism within Lambeth and Southwark and there is evidence of increasing initiatives within these boroughs to tackle air pollution, including initiatives headed by BAME individuals.
There are tensions between minority communities and environmental groups due to a lack of understanding, differing relationships - for example, with the police - and a lack of representation.

From these insights we then identified six main research questions:

How can air pollution become an agenda that is relevant to and inclusive of underrepresented communities?
What are the most effective ways to educate underrepresented communities on the impacts of air pollution?
How would a community-led environmental group operate in the 21st century?
Which of the barriers to greater representation in air pollution are more significant if different underrepresented communities?
How can each of the identified barriers to greater representation in air pollution be addressed?
How do the solutions to increase representation in air pollution differ for different underrepresented communities?

We explored these research questions using three different methodologies: establishing the Air Pollution Forum– recruiting 14 community members from diverse backgrounds to meet fortnightly and discuss a variety of issues surrounding the air pollution agenda (see recaps from some of these forums here and here). Secondly, we interviewed organisations, individuals and other stakeholders working on the air pollution agenda – including, Simon Birkett, Founder and Director of Clean Air London, Jemima Hartshorn, Founder of Mums for Lungs, Emma Hibbett, PhD Researcher of Pollution, Justice and Civil Society, Manny Hothi, Director of Policy at Trust for London, Kaydine Nyalima, Co-Founder of ChokedUp. Thirdly, we created a ‘Have your say’ survey. This was completed by 81 community members (with 68% of those coming from Lambeth and Southwark).

Through these three research techniques, we were able to draw in a diverse range of voices across a variety of minority communities within Lambeth and Southwark which led to the uncovering of the following key insights:

People are not aware that air pollution is a universal issue or of how it affects them personally
As people initially become aware of air pollution, they cannot prioritise the issue
As people become more aware of air pollution, they are keen to engage in the agenda, but the relevant information is hard to find
More research is needed to understand the barriers to engagement for different communities
There is a strong desire to raise awareness for all in the short-term...
...but people within the community are less confident on actions to tackle air pollution in the long-term
Collaboration between individuals, communities or organisations is key to tackling the problem of air pollution

Off the back of these insights, we set out a range of different recommendations, categorised under: understanding the barriers to engagement, addressing the barriers to engagement and supporting community-led movements.

During this research project, a landmark inquest into the death of 9-year-old Ella Kissi-Deborah in 2013 cited that her death was caused by asthma that was contributed to by her exposure to “excessive air pollution” in London. This has sparked increased media attention into the effects of air pollution and paved the way for genuine policy reform, such as the calls for Ella’s Law.

As we move into the second phase of our research we will be looking to address some of the recommendations we laid out in the first phase, whilst maintaining the flexibility to change our research methods and questions based on what we hear from local communities.

You can stay up-to-date by following us on Twitter and on our blog. If you’re interested in participating in the forums, joining our team as a Community Researcher or contributing to future research, please get in touch using the form below.