Environment
Asthma inquest told: no link between girl’s hospital admissions and higher pollution
December 8, 2020Scientist says no evidence to support theory Ella Kissi-Debrah’s condition worsened when air pollution rose Ella Kissi-Debrah’s mother, Rosamund, holds her mobile phone showing a photo of her daughter, who died in February 2013 from a severe asthma attack. Photograph: Hollie Adams/AFP/Getty Images A leading scientist has told an inquest there is no evidence that […]
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How communities are divided over low-traffic neighbourhoods
November 20, 2020In Poole, 41-year-old teacher Kate Salter said a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) had transformed her community. Salter was involved in proposing the measures to her council, which came into force at the end of August. “As soon as the planters went in, there was a change in the volume of traffic. It was quiet, you could […]
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So you want to set up a low-traffic neighbourhood? Here’s where to start
November 20, 2020How do I get started? For all the attention low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are getting, they are very simple things. Strategic “point closures” allow vehicle access to all addresses in a neighbourhood, but reduce through traffic. They can be done with planters, or lockable bollards, or a combination of both. In London, impressive maps of potential […]
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City of London buys into new Dorset solar farm to help power Square Mile
November 18, 2020City Corporation signs £40m deal with French renewables firm Voltalia to ensure green energy supply The City of London last month set out new climate targets to become carbon neutral by 2040. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Thousands of solar panels in the Dorset countryside will soon help power Britain’s historic financial centre under a new […]
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Low-traffic schemes benefit everyone, not just better-off, finds study
November 16, 2020There is no evidence schemes that try to limit “rat-running” traffic along residential streets disproportionately benefit better-off households, research has concluded, contradicting a common view cited by objectors. A study of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have mushroomed as part of efforts to boost walking and cycling amid coronavirus, found that the vast majority of people […]
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‘I got it wrong. Since the changes it’s become more vibrant’: life in an LTN
November 16, 2020Acorn Road, Newcastle upon Tyne When Newcastle city council planned to reduce motorist access to Acorn Road in the leafy suburb of Jesmond back in 2014, hardware store owner Steve Robson helped to raise a petition against the £350,000 scheme, organised meetings to oppose the plans and told a local newspaper that the proposed changes […]
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India and Pakistan dominate WHO’s air pollution database
November 5, 2020The region contains 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. Historical data sheds light on why An anti-smog device is used on a roadside in Delhi, India. Photograph: EPA At this time of year, agricultural burning adds to the air pollution problems across northern India and Pakistan. The region contains 16 of the 20 […]
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Covid-19 lockdowns have improved global air quality, data shows
October 8, 2020Around the world, Covid lockdowns have led to improvements in air pollution. In northern India, the Himalayas were visible in the distance for the first time in a generation. And during the first nine weeks of the UK lockdown, nitrogen dioxide along London’s roads decreased by an average of 31% compared with the pre-lockdown period. […]
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Residents demand new clean air rules for former gasworks sites in England
September 22, 2020Residents living near four gasworks redevelopment sites in London and Brighton have joined forces to demand an overhaul of regulations on the treatment of contaminated land. The move follows a Guardian report on residents’ claims that toxic substances from a site in west London were damaging their health. Calling itself Gasworks Communities United (GCU), the […]
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When the Durrells and their menagerie lived on our top floor | Letter
September 22, 2020Sara Holdsworth recalls the time her parents rented a flat to Gerald and Jacquie Durrell The naturalist Gerald Durrell with a lemur at Jersey Zoo (now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust). Photograph: Alamy As a footnote to your article (Gerald Durrell honoured with blue plaque at childhood home in London, 18 September), my parents rented […]
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