Why is clean air such a hot topic?

More than 36,000 people die each year as a complication of poor air quality. In Tower Hamlets the problem is more acutely felt as one of the most densely populated areas in the country. We have some of the busiest roads in the capital, including the Blackwall Tunnel approach, that carry tens of thousands of vehicles each day.

Local medics, like Dr Radcliffe of The Aberfeldy Practice, have warned about the impact of pollution on people living with asthma and other breathing conditions.

What are we doing about it?

There are many things we can all do to reduce the pollutants we release into the atmosphere.

At Poplar HARCA, we’ve been working hard to offset some of the carbon emissions we’re responsible for. Here, we highlight a few examples…

1) Creating smarter homes

Smart home technology has been installed in nearly 3,500 properties. We’ve worked with leading housing technology provider, AICO, to roll out devices which help to raise alerts to residents about drops in air quality. These sensors transmit information via an app which empower residents to make decisions, such as:

• reacting to smoke or carbon monoxide
• opening up windows and doors
• contacting our teams to carry out relevant repairs or maintenance works

2) Engaging residents in the clean air debate

Knitting the Air is our knitted visualisation of local air quality information that has been stitched by over 100 knitters from across the community.

Over 100 knitters of all ages and abilities from across the community have come together to meet, chat and knit air pollution data from two local Breathe London air quality sensors.

What’s most exciting it that it has created numerous opportunities for discussions about the environment and air pollution.

When complete, the textile will present data from an entire year (March 2023 to March 2024) and will be displayed across local community hubs. Until then we continue to knit one, purl one…

3) Co-designing new green spaces

We like asking residents to share their thoughts, ideas and requirements for the spaces in which they live.

The Great Green Estate is a project exploring how our spaces could be managed more sustainably to support people and nature in a changing climate. In autumn 2023, we hosted a programme of events and workshops exploring biodiverse planting and food growing.

This spring, a dedicated group of residents put this learning into action, developing landscaping improvements for nine sites across our neighbourhood.

4) Delivering lower carbon estate services

Electric-powered vehicles have been added to our fleet with the introduction of Renault Kangoo vans. These nippy and entirely electric vans help our estate service teams to respond to landscaping work quickly.

We took delivery of two Kangoo vans in 2022 and these have quickly become a popular method for transporting cleaning and maintenance appliances to where they are needed.

The further addition of dozens of new battery-powered tools, such as leaf blowers, hedge cutters, strimmer and chainsaws means we’re rapidly reducing our reliance on fuel-guzzling tools and vehicles.

5) Providing active travel experiences

Our Lottery-funded Community Cycles programme has helped hundreds of residents to discover cycling as a fun, clean and active way of getting around Tower Hamlets and London. Dozens of people have learned to cycle and, with more confidence, may even use cycling, rather than cars and buses, to get around.

We’ve also moved our cycle loan and repairs hub from Chrisp Street to a number of localised facilities which will bring the trailblazing scheme closer to even more of our residents.