Project: Clean Air Mini-Neighbourhood
Client: Greater London Authority

Conceived and delivered by Valerie while working for Better Bankside, Clean Air Mini-Neighbourhood was funded through Round 2 of the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund and delivered in collaboration with King’s College London.

Building on previous air quality project work carried out with Round 1 funding, the Clean Air Mini-Neighbourhood project used a small city block in Bankside as a test bed for measuring peoples’ exposure to air pollution, and for establishing an evidence base for encouraging people to use quieter side streets to reduce their exposure to air pollution when moving through the neighbourhood.

Working with Kings College London the study combined modelled nitrogen dioxide and PM10 particulate air pollution data with measured footfall data to create a more sophisticated picture of where exposure is occurring along three alternative routes in a quadrant of the Bankside area.

A series of engaging and creative street improvements were implemented as part of the project, to encourage footfall to the less busy side streets including Warden’s Grove, America Street and Keppel Row.

The study provided a new and transferrable method which allows policy makers to model a more sophisticated view of pedestrian exposure in the urban realm.