An online tool – called Air Aware – has been developed by The City of London and the Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets to enable people to check air quality levels in real time. Air Aware shows live particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels in the Square Mile and neighboring areas so that people can lower their exposure to air pollution.
Air Aware features an assistant chat function to give advice and answer users questions, along with serving as an information hub with extra tools, videos, and resources, such as a community news section and information about air pollution. This online tool can be accessed for free using a web browser via smartphone, tablet or laptop, and is also publicly accessed using new digital display screens at local libraries.
Along with developing Air Aware, The City Corporation has taken a number of steps to improve the Square Mile’s air quality, including: introducing emissions-based charges for on-street parking; targeting high-polluting transport with higher charges while rewarding drivers of low-emission vehicles with lower tariffs; and using an all-electric garage collection fleet.
“Air Aware demonstrates just how important it is to work together in order to make real changes to the environment across the capital and beyond,” said Mary Durcan, chair of the City of London Corporation’s Port Health and Environmental Services Committee. “By collaborating with neighboring boroughs, we’ve been able to create a useful resource for people who want to know more about air quality in areas they live, work, and explore. Over the past six months, we’ve been working together and listening, to develop a tool with the information local people really want, to help them make informed decisions about their daily lives.”
The project was funded through the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Air Quality Grant.