Designing evidence-based solutions to air pollution

Key information:

• Partner: Imperial College London – Environmental Research Group (ERG)
• Amount: £173,946
• Duration: 3 years
• Programme: Health effects of air pollution

What are we doing together?

The health effects of air pollution can be devastating. They contribute to up to 43,000 premature deaths each year in the UK. Finding solutions to this urgent problem relies on having the best, most up-to-date information from experts in air pollution, public health and social science. For those solutions to be equitable and effective, they should be co-designed with the communities whose health is most affected.

We are strengthening our partnership with Imperial College London by continuing to part-fund a post held by the leading Environmental Social Science and Health researcher in the Environmental Research Group (ERG). The ERG is a world leader in air pollution research. This collaboration will help to ensure our work is based on the latest research and evidence about the health effects of air pollution.

During this project, we will work with the ERG to identify, design and deliver solutions for cleaner air and improved health. One of these collaborations will be on WellHome II (the next phase of Imperial’s WellHome study) – a project exploring how effective retrofitting (the process of making modifications to existing buildings to improve their performance or efficiency) of homes can improve indoor air quality and health. Our involvement will make sure world-leading research involves, and directly benefits, residents in Lambeth and Southwark.

Understanding more about sources of indoor air pollution and how we can reduce them is one of our programme’s strategic priorities. So we will also support one of the post-holder’s PhD students, who will be researching how retrofitting interventions in homes shape the lived experiences, health, and environmental conditions of racialised and low-income communities.

The partnership will also explore the following areas:

• Identifying and pursuing new opportunities for impactful projects, such as modelling air pollution policy scenarios to evaluate potential benefits for air quality and health equity.
• Designing the next phase of an air quality course tailored for community leaders from our pilot and insights from alumni network.
• Delivering the course with local community leaders to share knowledge on air pollution and build the power of residents to speak out and act on air pollution.
• Supporting the delivery of other partnership projects led by ERG colleagues, including air quality updates in urban spaces and reducing air pollution from construction sites
• Providing regular strategic support to our Health effects of air pollution programme, as an integrated part of the team.
• Connecting our team, and our partners, to Imperial’s research and events on air pollution.

Aim of the partnership

We’re testing whether strengthening our strategic collaboration with a leading academic institution can generate new insights and help us to reduce the health effects of air pollution. We want to learn how we can use high quality academic evidence can help us to achieve our goals. We will also explore how combining the ERG’s evidence on effective community involvement with our own expertise can help to drive changes that improve air quality.

By the end of this three-year partnership, we hope to have:

• Evidence on the health impacts of retrofitting from the WellHome II project for councils and other housing providers to use to improve indoor air quality.
• A sustainable model to fund and deliver an air quality course programme to community leaders across London.
• Established a joint approach to advocacy and policy modelling that will be a catalyst for policy change.

Connection to our strategy

We work to reduce air pollution at source in a way that has the deepest impact on improving health equity in urban areas. That means:

• focusing on the sources of air pollution that disproportionately affect racialised and economically disadvantaged people (for example, mould and damp in people’s houses).
• ensuring these groups are prioritised and involved in change for cleaner air.

The ERG has a track record in collaborating with these communities on research that is scientifically robust and aligned with community needs and expectations. Together we aim to develop equitable solutions that address the root causes of environmental injustice and give all communities the chance to breathe cleaner air. 

Photo by Ashley Gorringe on Unsplash