Health effects of air pollution

Breathing space

20 March 2020

Insights into air pollution in inner cities and its impact on people’s health

Poor air quality often makes the headlines, but less is known about what genuinely works to reduce its impact on people’s health.

As an urban health foundation, we are setting out to find solutions from our place in the heart of London.

To help develop our ten-year programme we’ve looked at the evidence, analysed local data and explored how people experience the issue in our inner-city area.

Most vulnerable groups

Air pollution impacts some people's health more than others. In our work, we are focusing on the most vulnerable: children from pregnancy to early adolescence, people with heart and lung conditions and older people.

Health effects of air pollution

Air pollution and children

Air pollution can affect children’s organ development from pregnancy through to early adolescence, with children living near busy roads four times more likely than adults to have reduced lung function. Yet, our local parents are more likely than other groups to think the dangers of air pollution have been exaggerated.

Health effects of air pollution

Air pollution and people with heart and lung conditions

People with lung or heart conditions experience worsened symptoms from spikes in air pollution, with high levels of NO2 associated with increases in hospital admissions for asthma. In our inner-city area, those with health conditions are more likely to say that air quality has got worse.

Health effects of air pollution

Air pollution and older people

Air pollution is linked with heart failure, strokes, poor cognition and even lung cancer in older people over 65, with high levels of particulate matter increasing their risk of hospitalisation. Our research shows that older people are less likely to point to poor air quality as an important issue to address.

The causes of air pollution in inner cities

How do the ways we get around, construction, the built environment, and other aspects of how we live affect air quality in cities?

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Proving that public health has been improved is a complicated and costly process, but it is the only way to guarantee that an intervention has been effective and is worthy of being implemented.

Frank Kelly Professor of Environmental Health, King's College London

The solutions to tackling air pollution

Poor air quality often makes the headlines and there is significant research on the damage it is doing to our health. But what genuinely works to reduce its impact on our health?

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We don’t expect this to be easy - we will need to bring together leading experts in atmospheric science, transport, construction, behavioural economics and political science. By working in place we can broaden this coalition to include those with real levers for change - schools, the NHS, local businesses and citizens themselves.

Kate Langford Programme Director, Impact on Urban Health

Our approach

A deeper understanding of our typical inner city could hold the key to solutions we can share with the world. We’re running a ten-year programme to tackle air pollution in inner cities.

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Some of the lived experience behind our work

Health effects of air pollution

Sarah’s story

Sarah is an outdoor worker for an environmental education charity in Lambeth. She doesn’t own a car and tries to cycle most places, with public transport her back-up option.

Health effects of air pollution

Alika’s story

Alika and Alex, 3, live in Southwark. Alika, who moved to London from Nigeria in 2000, is doing an electrical apprenticeship by day and is a youth worker by night.

Health effects of air pollution

Piarve’s story

Piarve is the parent of Janila, 8, and has lived in Southwark all her life. Piarve works in events for an interior design company, as well as running sewing classes and other community fashion initiatives.

Health effects of air pollution

John’s story

John is 72 and lives in Southwark. He loves the hustle and bustle of the area, but is not very mobile and doesn’t get out as much as he’d like to.

Explore more of 'Breathing space'

Health effects of air pollution

What are the causes of air pollution in inner cities – and how bad is it?

The more we know about air pollution in urban areas, the more we will be able to design effective solutions.

Health effects of air pollution

Our approach to tackling air pollution in inner cities

We are running a ten-year programme to tackle the health effects of air pollution and poor air quality in cities and other urban areas.

Health effects of air pollution

Tackling air pollution in inner cities – what the evidence says and what people think

Our insights into clean air solutions include an evidence review of interventions in inner cities as well as public perception research.

Find out more about our programme