This year’s Clean Air Day was another busy one for those involved in air pollution research at the University of Birmingham, with a range of events and activities.
The TRANSITION Clean Air Network, in partnership with UK100, held an interactive day workshop at The Library of Birmingham, ‘Beyond the Clean Air Zone’, organised by Dr Suzanne Bartington and Prof. Francis Pope, and attended by Prof. William Bloss, Prof. John Bryson and Dr Omid Ghaffarpasand. The workshop brought together 30+ councillors, researchers, practitioners, and citizen representatives to consider evidence emerging from ‘Clean Air Zone’ initiatives implemented in UK cities, with a view to defining key challenges and future solutions. This was followed by a networking reception in The Air We Breathe exhibition at The Exchange.
Elsewhere, Nicole Cowell and Dr Joe Acton worked with the sustainable transport team on a pilot study measuring air quality along the A38 cycleway. Using one of the BrumBreathes E-Cargo bikes (on loan to the University from Birmingham City Council), both research-grade and low-cost sensing equipment were fitted into the cargo hold of the bike before riding from campus to Birmingham New Street station via the traffic segregated blue route cycleway. Data on a variety of air pollutants (NO2, NOx and PM) were collected to provide insight into cyclist exposure along the route.
Meanwhile, Dr Catherine Muller and Dr Clarissa Baldo manned a West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme (WM-Air) / Institute for Global Innovation Clean Air stand at the the University’s Sustainability Town Hall event, with talks from MSc student Jessie May, who is exploring air quality along Birmingham canals, and Rhiannon Blake, who introduced the A Systems Approach to Air Pollution (ASAP) East Africa project.
In the evening, the University’s clean air researchers supported a public engagement event at The Exchange, where Dr Suzanne Bartington outlined the health impacts of air pollution in the West Midlands region, followed by presentations by Dr Atanu Mukherjee, a respiratory specialist who works with children and young people, and guest speaker Kirsten de Vos, a Birmingham based member of Mums for Lungs. The event was attended by ~30 members of the public and was presented as part of The Air We Breathe Public Programme.
There was also a lot of social media activity on the day, which can be viewed by searching #UoBCleanAirDay on Twitter.