Relevance to UN SDG 3

Air pollution in Hackney directly relates to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being especially the commitment to prevent and minimize illnesses and deaths caused by hazardous chemicals and pollution. Of course, Hackney has this global objective in mind, because the borough has an Air Quality Action Plan that would help it achieve WHO's air quality in the future by 2030. There was a slight improvement —The NO2 level has significantly reduced by 45% in 2021/2027 from 2017 — however, the PM2.5 levels are still above the WHO recommended standards. Tackling this will not only assist Hackney improve its health and environmental strategies but also add to an international push to reduce air pollution's potential to cause millions of early deaths across the world.

Impact on Residents

Air pollution heavily affects the population of Hackney regarding their well-being and life quality. Hackney's children are among the worst hit since various research notes that breathing in polluted air compounds such as NO2 and PM2.5 hinders lung growth, making the children prone to respiratory diseases in future. King's College London study also found that achieving WHO guideline limits on PM2.5 could prevent hundreds of hospitalisations in London boroughs, such as Hackney, due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (Moller, 2020). There is also heavy cost implication when it comes to air pollution. People undergo more treatments hence the health related costs forming part of the external cost of bad air quality. Health care of Hackney in 2024 experienced admitted cases of asthma attack, bronchitis, and cardiac cases in the healthcare facilities.

What Needs to Be Done?

1. Expanding Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and Incentivizing Electric Vehicles

LTNs are already effective in Hackney; since 2017, there is a 45% decrease in NO2 concentration primarily around these zones. Thus, the extension of LTNs to other parts of the city, especially adjacent to schools and hospitals, will help lower vehicle emissions even more. LTNs limit car use in some roads denying non-residents the rights to access certain streets on their automobiles, hence emissions reduction. A survey from similar schemes in the European cities such as Barcelona reveal that LTNs can cut down pollution levels by 20percent in the most populated regions. They include offering cheaper parking rates for EVs, installation of more stations, and head start grants for the changeover from non-electric to electric vehicles by Hackney residents. Other incentives can make the ULEZ more effective, as London has recently proved the efficiency of Assignment help discouraging highly polluting vehicles. The evaluation from the European Environmental Agency suggests that ordinary use of EVs can lower city emissions by 70%.

2. Encouraging Public Transport, Walking, and Cycling

Instead, to accompany the extension of LTNs, Hackney needs to invest in infrastructure promoting PT, walking, and cycling. It may mean, for instance erecting additional physical barriers for cycle lanes, refining the buses' corridors and offering bike-sharing services at certain locations. Experts also predict that increased biking reduces traffic noise and air pollution; for instance, Copenhagen with a vigorous biking culture has experienced a cut of 40% of automobile contributed air pollution. According to a research by King's College London, replacing three quarters of the buses with those charged through electricity would reduce the emission of NO2 related to transport in London by 45%. Hackney can embrace this approach to measure up in bus electrification with the help of Transport for London (TfL in particular).

3. Stricter Regulations on Wood-Burning Stoves

The burning of wood in stoves contributes most of the PM2.5 emissions in Hackney particularly during winter seasons. But one of the biggest nuisances is still pollution that comes from wood-burning stoves calls for radically increasing the regulation of this type of pollution. The council could introduce even higher fines for non-compliant stoves, encourage the use of cleaner heating sources, and provide subsidies for residents to change their stoves to less polluting ones.

Place like Oslo has benefited a lot from banning of wood burning stoves that cannot meet acceptable emission standards. Hackney can use this same process, and develop public awareness programmes to inform residents of the risks involved by using wood-burning, and ways to change the same by offering a variety of rebates for cleaner sources of heat such as heat pumps.

4. Using Green Infrastructure to Absorb Pollutants

Actual green investment like the trees within urban areas, green walls and other parks and gardens provide an important Geology Topics determent in the absorption of pollutants (Jozay e al., 2024). Of all the combinations of pollutants, trees are most efficient in trapping PM2.5 and NO2. From an ecological studies conducted in the UK using information from Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, it was realised that that trees within urban areas can remove up to a quarter of particulate matter. In the regions with high density of population, the green roofs and green walls can be additional advantageous as it absorbs CO2; besides, the extra layer of insulation means no extra heating in winters. Other European cities such as Milan have already adopted green infrastructure that helps deal with heat and air pollution in the cities.

Where Should it Be Done?

Focus Areas

For instance, Hackney areas suffer high rates of air pollution than other areas because of traffic hold-up, closeness to major roads, and industrial activities. These areas involve educational institutions, health facilities and public places since the population is most at risk. For instance, the surroundings of the Amhurst Road and Pembury Circus are seen to be highly polluted because of high vehicle traffic that increases emission of NO2 and PM2.

Hospitals and schools exposed to these strategic areas are most vulnerable. Campaigns have found evidence that children are more sensitive to the effects of air pollution and that polluted air can stunt the growth of lungs, consequently produce other diseases in the future. Schools in the area including those close to Homerton High Street and Dalston Lane should be the focal area when it comes to pollution reduction which can include green areas and restrictions when children are around.

Mapping Pollution Hotspots

Hackney's Air Quality Monitoring Service gives important and relevant information about pollution within the borough. This shows that the roadside stations have tended to record higher concentrations of NO2 and particularly PM2.5, particularly along Dalston Lane, Queensbridge Road, and Homerton High Street. Here, air quality rarely gets to the WHO standards, and therefore, the areas are ideal for interventions.

Furthermore, proper air quality monitoring with use of real-time monitors in these zones will assist in evaluating the impacts of the interventional measures and identifying feedback for future policies. Hackney could well emulate the practice as employed by Paris where the monitoring results were used to direct efforts at controlling pollution with traffic emissions being cut to over a third in identified hot spots.

Examples of similar initiatives:

Some cities have come up with anti-pollution measures in some of the most sensitive and congested regions. For example, London's Ultra Low Emission Zone, through which the most polluted vehicles are charged to access specific zones, has considerably cut NO2 concentrations (Gustafsson, 2022). Hackney could extend the ULEZ to the routes frequented by motorists for instance, the Stoke Newington and Hackney central regions because pollution persists to high levels.

Another successful example is Milan that has developed Green Areas inside the city, providing priority for pedestrian and cycling paths and planting trees that filter air. Hackney could do the same, Gabriel suggested, particularly in the areas such as Victoria Park and Hackney Downs should green spaces be expanded and active modes of transportation promoted.

When Does it Need to Be Done?

Urgency of the Problem

It is high time that Hackney started concerns on cutting back on air pollution. Failure to treat high levels of NO2 and PM2.5 will keep worsening respiratory diseases with an adverse impact on children, the elderly and people with the underlying health conditions. Meta-analysis has shown that chronic pollution causes reduced life expectancy, admission to hospitals for asthmatic disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and cardiovascular illnesses (Duan et al., 2020). As air pollution is said to be responsible for about 10% of deaths, it is imperative that an urgent solution be found to the health challenges arising from it in Hackney.

Short-term vs. Long-term Plans

In the first scenario for the next 1-2 years, Hackney Council needs to focus on communicating to the community and continuing to advocate for changes to air pollution and promotion of low-emitting transportation including public transportation, walking or biking. The council should also apply initial restrictions to those stations like Amhurst Road and Dalston Lane and extend existing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).

This analysis suggests that infrastructure objectives that are likely to be effective in Science Research Topics Hackney within the next 5-10 years include the enhancement of EV charging stations and energy efficient buildings retrofit, as well as the increasing the number of trees in areas with high pollution. The council should also strive to meet WHO air quality standards, which call for a massive reduction of PM 2.5.

Global and Local Deadlines

Hackney has a vision of reaching WHO air quality standards by 2030. This is in line with London's net-zero carbon objectives which entails cutting emissions across the city by the same year (Seto et al., 2021). To achieve these results, Hackney will have to make specific directions today and keep pace with the way and scope in the next ten years. These objectives will not only enhance the health of people but will also help in global endeavors to reduce climate change and air pollution.

Who Should Do It?

Key Stakeholders

Tackling air pollution in Hackney requires a collaborative effort involving multiple stakeholders, each with specific roles to play:

1. Hackney Council: It will be noted that policy formulation and or implementation is best attributed to the local government. The council has the duty of formulating and implementing air quality measures like the increase of the LTNs, the increase of the EVs' use and improved energy upgrades to buildings. They also oversee air quality monitoring measures and strive for conformity to local standards as well as deploy standards across regional and national level objectives as recommended by WHO.
2. Transport for London (TfL): TfL has the main responsibility of minimizing the emission of pollutants from the public transport. Therefore, in addition to increasing the electrification of buses while encouraging cycling and walking, TfL has the opportunity to reduce the emissions of the region's transport sector. There must be a top-up by TfL and Hackney Council to ensure that local transport solutions work hand in hand with air quality objectives.
3. Residents and Local Businesses: Reducing air pollution needs the support of the people in the community (Symanski et al., 2020). The public can get involved by using public transport or cycling instead of driving, and avoiding some traditional uses of wood. Local businesses especially those on delivery service should shift to Green vehicles and other green practices such as cargo bicycle delivery service.
4. Health Professionals and Environmental Organizations: The awareness, prevention and early diagnosis of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases is very important in empowering health workers in the fight against air pollution (Kaufman et al., 2020). Institutions like Greenpeace and other environmental elated organisations and local citizens' advocacy groups could assist in the filing of even more forceful policies and coordinate public awareness.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Hackney Council: Law making, law enforcement as well as provision of public utilities and infrastructure.
• TfL: Optimisation of electric usage in public transport and provision of cycling facilities.
• Residents/Businesses: Thus making important changes towards greener behavior, changing sources of energy to cleaner ones.
• Health Professionals/NGOs: Advocacy, public education, and research are the types of intervention.

Collaborative Efforts

Key strategies for its implementation include stakeholder engagement involving public sector entities, NGOs, and the private sector (Nonet et al., 2022). Hackney Council needs to maintain a regular cooperation with TfL and other environmental non-governmental organizations to negotiate funding and a supporting system for pollution-cutting measures implementations. Such partnerships will be important in ensuring that all stakeholders adhere to implementation of the strategies seeking to enhance quality of air.

Why Does it Need to Be Done?

Health and Well-being

Reducing air pollution is crucial to improving public health in Hackney, where air quality has been linked to a rise in respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Williams et al., 2024). Exposure to pollutants like PM2.5 and NO2 leads to decreased lung function and exacerbates cardiovascular diseases. Studies estimate that long-term exposure to PM2.5 can reduce life expectancy by almost two years.

Social and Economic Benefits

Cleaner air will lead to significant social and economic benefits for Hackney. Reduced air pollution will decrease healthcare costs by lowering the number of hospital admissions for pollution-related illnesses (Liu, and Ao, 2021). Improved air quality also increases worker productivity by reducing sick days and enhancing the overall quality of life for residents. Cleaner air also makes the borough more attractive for businesses and tourism, boosting the local economy.

Alignment with Global Goals

Addressing air pollution aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, which aims to reduce deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air pollution. By reducing pollution levels, Hackney will contribute to global efforts to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all residents.

How Should it Be Done?

Implementation Strategy

A step-by-step implementation strategy should include:

1. Public Awareness Campaigns: Coordinate informative events aimed to give information to the general public about the effects of air pollution and to change people's behavior by not using cars and setting up the shift towards the usage of cleaner type of energy.
2. Air Quality Monitors: Still, install more RTAIIs in the central zones to keep having constant measurements of pollutants within the areas. This data should best be posted on public forums in order to capture the residents' attention.
3. Government Grants and Funding: Go look for a grant from the government to help finance projects such as installing charge points for EVs or retrofitting social facilities for a green touch.
4. Collaborative Partnerships: Engage with TfL, environmental organisations, and local businesses to implement the proposed measures which include the expansion of LTNs and the addition of extra greenery.

Monitoring Progress

For these interventions, they need to study whether they work in the systematic air quality reports and the experiences of the people of Hackney. This way the accurate and more frequent data and results on the air quality together with health status of the borough residents will show if the borough is on the right track to meet WHO guideline and also enhance the lives of the residence.

References

• Duan, R.R., Hao, K. and Yang, T., 2020. Air pollution and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Chronic diseases and translational medicine, 6(04), pp.260-269.
• Gustafsson, G., 2022. Urban Planning for Better Air Quality: A case study of the Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods in London.
• Gustafsson, G., 2022. Urban Planning for Better Air Quality: A case study of the Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods in London.
• Jozay, M., Zarei, H., Khorasaninejad, S. and Miri, T., 2024. Maximising CO2 Sequestration in the City: The Role of Green Walls in Sustainable Urban Development. Pollutants, 4(1), pp.91-116.
• Kaufman, J.D., Elkind, M.S., Bhatnagar, A., Koehler, K., Balmes, J.R., Sidney, S., Burroughs Peña, M.S., Dockery, D.W., Hou, L., Brook, R.D. and Laden, F., 2020. Guidance to reduce the cardiovascular burden of ambient air pollutants: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 142(23), pp.e432-e447.
• Liu, Y.M. and Ao, C.K., 2021. Effect of air pollution on health care expenditure: Evidence from respiratory diseases. Health Economics, 30(4), pp.858-875.
• Moller, S.J., 2020, September. Co-ordinating Research Action: Air Quality & COVID-19. In Co-ordinating Research Action: Air Quality & COVID-19: Joint SAQN, UKIEG and AQNUK Online Workshop.
• Nonet, G.A.H., Gössling, T., Van Tulder, R. and Bryson, J.M., 2022. Multi-stakeholder engagement for the sustainable development goals: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(4), pp.945-957.
• Seto, K.C., Churkina, G., Hsu, A., Keller, M., Newman, P.W., Qin, B. and Ramaswami, A., 2021. From low-to net-zero carbon cities: The next global agenda. Annual review of environment and resources, 46(1), pp.377-415.
• Symanski, E., An Han, H., Hopkins, L., Smith, M.A., McCurdy, S., Han, I., Jimenez, M., Markham, C., Richner, D., James, D. and Flores, J., 2020. Metal air pollution partnership solutions: building an academic-government-community-industry collaboration to improve air quality and health in environmental justice communities in Houston. Environmental Health, 19, pp.1-12.
• Williams, P.J., Buttery, S.C., Laverty, A.A. and Hopkinson, N.S., 2024. Lung disease and social justice: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a manifestation of structural violence. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 209(8), pp.938-946.
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