Project focus
Air pollution is not experienced equally. Exposure, underlying vulnerability and the capacity of institutions to respond vary across neighbourhoods and population groups. This project develops a multidimensional framework for understanding those differences at regional scale.
The initial focus is Yorkshire & Humber, with a wider ambition to create an approach that can be transferred across urban England.
Evidence framework
The project integrates high-resolution mapping of PM₂.₅, PM₁₀, O₃ and NO₂ with UK Census socioeconomic data, urban form and vegetation information, and linked health datasets. These layers will be assessed across three connected dimensions: air quality, vulnerability and governance.
Analytical direction
New indicators and indices will support multidimensional and intersectional analysis. Rather than treating environmental exposure or social disadvantage in isolation, the framework examines how they overlap and compound one another across places and populations.
Intended contribution
An interactive web-based tool will synthesise the evidence into maps that can support targeted, equitable interventions. The project connects air-quality science, public health, urban resilience and inequality research in a form intended to be useful for both scholarship and decision-making.
Fellowship record
The project is supported through a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Sheffield in the 2025–26 awards cycle. The award value is £333,095.00 and the project reference is PFSS26\260047.